Protection
by Juana la Cliker-Rooster
Summary: Transformers Animated: Jazz falls for Prowl instantly, and lets him know it. However, things get difficult when Sentinel starts some mild drama and Lockdown comes into the picture. Don't read if you dislike it, easy as that. READ AUTHOR'S NOTES.
1. Fine

**Ah…okay. Hi everyone. So I know I said I wasn't going to upload this one UNTIL "The Dangers of Idol Worship" was all done, but since that one is going slowly (I've lost a bit of interest in it, but I'm still going to finish it) I decided, all right, just upload the one you've been going nuts with. So here it is. I wrote it half in anticipation of the "Elite Guard" episode, and post-"Elite Guard". Hopefully you'll like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any faction of Transformers, nor am I affiliated with Hasbro in any way.**

"Protection"

Juana la Cliker-Rooster

2008

TFA

**One: Fine**

"Is everything all right, Jazz?"

I resist the urge to jump at the sudden interruption as I stare at the flickering screen before me. I've discovered human television, and even though I've flipped through the channels and stopped on one very flashy and interestingly obnoxious channel designated as 'emm-tee-vee', I can't pay the slightest bit of attention to it.

I've got something…someone…more interesting on my CPU.

Ultra Magnus walks over to me and places a battle-worn, aged hand on my shoulder and asks again,

"Is everything all right?" He acts as though he were my creator sometimes. I merely nod in response quickly; I'd rather not discuss my current stream of thought with my commander, especially when it has to do with one of the Autobots we've found stranded on this interesting planet.

"I'm fine, sir," I add, after noticing that my commander does not believe me, "I really am. I'm just…taking in this new planet. It's nothing like Cybertron." Magnus nods and replies,

"It is indeed exotic. The organics here are not as threatening as Sentinel was leading us to believe."

"No, sir," I answer, hoping to Primus the conversation will go in another direction soon. We stand in silence, watching the 'emm-tee-vee' program but not really caring about it. Magnus chuckles, then reaches over and switches the screen off. I turn to look at him, arms crossed, pretending to be annoyed, but he knows better. He knows me too well for that.

"I know you better than you think I do, Jazz" he says with a rare grin. See? What did I tell you?

"Oh?" I ask, cocking my head to the side. He answers gently,

"Indeed. You always get this way whenever you find something intriguing, interesting, or, as you sometimes say, 'solid'. And considering we're on a new planet, surrounded by new creatures, places, customs and technology, I don't blame you. Something on this planet has captured your attention, and knowing you, you won't stop obsessing with it until you've experienced it for yourself firsthand."

Oh, if only he knew….

"It's…a lot of stuff here, sir," I answer, returning the smile. "Humans have these things called 'traffic lights'; it's like a light show, right in the middle of the street! And they have music blaring everywhere! I saw organic-based product advertisements; I heard multiple languages being spoken in the streets; and there were these strange, fuzzy organic creatures with four legs and tails. And the organics, the humans themselves…each individual organic has its own style, its own physical vocals, its own look...it's astounding, sir."

"Hmm. And what of the Autobots we finally tracked down?"

Scrap. I was hoping it wasn't going to get this far. I'm not yet ready to discuss the Autobots, especially not 'the one'. But I can tell by my commander's expression that he's already figured it out, and there's nothing I can say or do to change that. So I answer truthfully,

"I wouldn't say I'm obsessed, sir. Not yet, in any case. Perhaps I will be in the near future, when I get to know him a bit better." Ultra Magnus takes his hand off my shoulder and places both his hands behind his back, then says,

"He's good, but not as good as you."

"I know, sir."

"But I don't blame you. He is rather attractive."

"Who is?" yells Sentinel somewhere across the room; it's clear he's been hiding back there, listening to our private conversation, but Ultra Magnus and I laugh loudly and I answer,

"None o' your business, Sentinel."

"Go back to your post, Sentinel," Magnus suddenly growls. He rarely speaks to his perfect Sentinel like this, and it makes me realize just how important this conversation really is to him. We watch Sentinel stand up and walk away, looking as though he'd been rejected from a youngling game of Cyberball. I laugh again and turn my head to look at my commander, but stop as soon as I see the aggravated look on his face.

"Sir…?"

"Jazz, I don't think you should let him know about your sudden infatuation with this particular mech. Of course he's going to pester you about it now, but if I were you, I'd keep it down. Sentinel is not a bad person, but he is cocky, obnoxious and vengeful. His dislike for Optimus Prime was clearly evident today, and even though I know he would never attempt to harm any of Prime's men, I have to advise you to be very careful. It's more of a precaution thing, you understand."

"Of course, sir. I'm not worried about Sentinel. Besides, this mech can take care of himself, even if he isn't as well-trained as I am."

"I know," answered Sentinel, grinning again, "I think you two would be very happy together, if given the chance. I'm old, Jazz, I've experienced love myself. I know the signs. And if you play your cards right, you'll be fine. And you, Jazz, will most definitely be fine."

I smile and nod, because I know he's right. I...hopefully someday _we_… will be happy together.

* * *

Please, please PLEASE forgive the shortness of this chapter. I have a tendency to do that, don't freak out on me. I'm writing it at a rapid pace, which means the whole thing will be done soon. Also, I have read and re-read this for typos, mistakes, etc...but chances are high you'll catch something. No worries, please. It's a mere fanfic, not a novel you have to pay for.

-Juana


	2. I'll Protect You

**Read and review, por favor.**

**Disclaimer: Fan fic. Hence, why this can only be found on .**

**Two: I'll Protect You**

"So what were you and the old man talking about in there?" Sentinel asks as soon as I enter the room. I expected this of course, so I answer smoothly,

"That Optimus Prime you love so much. He is one fine mech."

"Shut up, Jazz. You and I both know damn well you weren't. Just tell me. You know I'm going to bother you until you tell me." I laugh and answer,

"Please. It's my business and I'm goin' to keep it that way. Now get back to whatever it is you're doin' and let me be. I'm off-duty, and I'm not gonna waste it with you. Your behavior today was appallin', man. Not cool."

"Hey," snaps Sentinel, his anger starting to rise, "I didn't ask to be dragged here. I couldn't care less whether or not Prime and his team of repair 'bots stay stranded here. They're worthless, all of them. If you have a crush on one of them, fine. Whatever. Stay here and be with him, because you aren't bringing any of those rejects back onboard. No one back home is waiting for them. After they disappeared, not a single of them had any relations begging us to find them. This was all Magnus' idea. So don't tell me my behavior sucked, because honestly, this whole situation sucks."

"Grow up, Sentinel," I suddenly snap back, "Magnus is right: you could learn a thing or two from that Optimus Prime kid. He cares about his men, and he really is a good leader. He's still got a way to go, but at least he's learnin' along the way. And he's not disgustingly obnoxious, like some mechs I know."

Sentinel looks at me with this anger in his optics, an anger I've never seen before. Yes, he's been ticked off before, but never like this. I must have hit a sensitive wire to get that look. I don't know what happened between him and Optimus before they went separate ways, and I know better than to ask, but Sentinel just won't let go. I shake my head and say,

"Sentinel, it's been a long, surprisin' day. I haven't recharged in a while, so I'm off. Just mind your own business and stop bein' so angry. There's no need to harbor such feelings, kid." I walk off, knowing full well he's not going to let it go. I hate being interrogated, especially by someone whose wishes I've respected for so long. I've asked him only once about his relationship with Prime, and he refused to discuss it. Now I feel I might be in love, yet I'm not quite sure.

Everything here is all so very new, I think as I walk to my quarters. Our ship is huge, and there are many others here, but they refuse to come out. They've heard Sentinel's bogus stories about slime-spewing organics, and so, they have decided to hide on the ship and do their jobs. Not a single one will step off the ship, nor will any of them ever come into contact with Optimus Prime's Autobots. Fear of contamination will do that to you.

I suddenly realize that I'm not in the least bit tired, despite our long, eventful day. Normally, after a busy day, I would be dragging my feet to my room, fall over backwards onto my berth and either listen to my tunes or pass out, but tonight, I'm wide awake.

I have to see him again. Right now. I feel like such a youngling again, getting all excited about a crush. It feels good, actually. I'm not very old, but I'm old enough to have nearly forgotten what it was like to be a youngling. I reach my quarters and go in, but not before looking around to make sure I haven't been followed by a suspicious Sentinel or anyone else. When I find the coast is clear, I go into my room, close and lock the door.

When I was first hired by Ultra Magnus to be part of the Elite Guard, I was stunned. I knew I had worked hard, but I never thought I had worked that hard. It was an honor, the greatest moment in my young life. As soon as I was hired, I was given a job and a room (the ship is like a luxurious hotel) and I went right to work searching for ways I could get out, or anyone could get in. I found one spot in the ceiling, well-hidden by a shelf that I later filled with data pads and the like.

It's through this exit I decide to escape for the 'night' and find those Autobots. I don't think I'll let him see me; I just want to see him. Badly. I sneak through the secret door in the ceiling and crawl quickly yet quietly through the vents until I reach the final layer of the ship. I twist, turn and jump around skillfully until I reach the final exit. I kick out my only obstacle, jump out of the ship and replace the vent's cover quickly before bolting in the direction the Autobots had gone their separate way.

And like any good Cyberninja, I go off in pursuit of my goal.

* * *

This place is huge.

I mean, our ship is huge, too, but this place was built by organics, it seems. And it's massive for an organic-built structure. But the energy signatures inside tell me I've found what I came looking for, and I smile because I know I get to see _him_ very soon.

I decide that walking right up to the front door would be the worst thing I can do, so I climb up to the roof and look around for a way in. And, as though Primus himself were watching me, I find a huge gap in the roof several yards from where I stand. There is an organic…_something_ poking out of it, accompanied by bad artificial light shining through, telling me someone is in there, but I can elude them easy-no-problem. After all, I am a Cyberninja.

I stealthily move over to the gap and peer over the edge, wondering which of them I'm going to see. Perhaps the youngling, or the larger Autobot. Perhaps he is responsible for the gap in the first place. I smile to myself, finding the idea amusing, but then my spark freezes:

It's _him_. _He_ occupies this room! I nearly gasp and give myself away, but I resist the urge and hold in my surprise. He is sitting on the floor, deep in meditative thought, from what I can tell, and he hasn't noticed me. This is wonderful, because all I want to do it watch him, get to know him from afar so that when I do actually speak to him, I won't make a fool of myself.

He's facing away from me, so all I can see is his back. But even that little bit is beautiful. He's motionless, completely still and focused on his thoughts. Silence fills the room, and I bask in it—it's not any silence, it's his silence, and I love it, despite being a music-lover myself.

I really am like a youngling again. I'm so smitten with him that I have to roll over on my back and press my hands to my spark. I off-line my optics and sigh silently. I can hardly believe my luck! Moments pass, and I turn back over to watch him again, but he is no longer there. I look around the room, trying desperately to find him, but he is gone.

"You know, you could have knocked. We would have let you in." I jump to my feet, and before he knows it, I've grabbed both his arms and pinned him down on the roof. We're both equally startled. I look down at him and he looks up at me, but I don't think he's feeling what I'm feeling, and I can't help but be disappointed.

"Off, please," he says as politely as he can, and I let his arms go and stand up, then help him to his feet. Now that we're standing next to one another, I smirk as I notice he is smaller than I am, and, judging by how he's standing, he knows it. He keeps his head up high and watches me intently, probably to see if I have any bad intentions. I laugh and say,

"I was hopin' I'd run into you. I was gonna ask if you wanted to spar sometime." Despite my nervousness, my voice doesn't tremble; nothing I do or say betrays me or my true feelings. He looks at me, perhaps trying to read my mind, then nods.

"Yes, that would be wonderful. No one else here is trained in the art of Circuit-Su. I would be honored to spar with you, um…"

"Jazz," I tell him. Apparently he is not good with names. But I don't care—he's talking to me! He wants to spend time with me! His voice is soft, yet deep and strong. I love it. I nearly clutch at my spark again, but I resist the urge—I'd rather he not know how I feel just yet. There will be another time for that. So I distract myself by asking,

"How did ya know I was here?" He smiles and answers,

"My sensors are the most sensitive ones here. I could feel your energy signature when you came within a mile of our base. I was expecting you, to be honest. I can also feel your systems overworking themselves." His smile turns into a somewhat seductive yet awkward smirk. "Something you'd like to tell me?"

Damn, he's quick. His expression tells me he knows exactly why I'm here, and even though I was looking forward to torturing myself over him, I return the smile and answer,

"I don't think I need to tell you. Seems to me you've figured it out. You're a quick one, Prowl."

"Trust me, I'm just as surprised as you are. I'm the designated introvert of this group; I don't do social activities, let alone romancing other mechs. This is all a big learning experience for me."

"Luckily fo' you, you've got a wonderful teacher to help you along," I laugh. I doubt I'll ever tell him, but I've had many sparkmates in my past. None of them ever lasted long enough to become a real relationship, however. Some of them were spontaneous, mere one-night stands, while others lasted long enough for us to decide it wasn't going anywhere. But this one…we have enough in common, yet so many differences. I'm excited about this. It feels real.

He watches me closely, then says in a sudden, less-than-sure tone,

"I've never been in love before. I don't know what to do, or how to do it, or--" I put up a hand to stop him.

"Don't worry," I tell him in my most reassuring vocals, 'I will teach you. We'll take it real slow, baby. You have nothin' to worry about." I move forward and place my hands on his arms again, but this time, I'm far gentler. I lean down so that we can be optic-to-optic, then say,

"I assume you've never been kissed?"

"Never," he answers. He tenses up; he must be uncomfortable with being touched so suddenly and without warning. He wasn't kidding when he said he didn't know what to do. Why he acted like he knew all about this sort of thing a moment, I don't know. He must have not wanted to look inexperienced, but I like inexperienced. He's really too cute. I decide that he isn't ready for a real kiss, so I ask him if I can kiss his neck. He nods, still somewhat reluctant, but if he didn't want me to do anything, he never would have let me know he'd caught on so fast.

I press my lips against his slender neck, making sure I'm not going too fast for him. I'm gentle, as I always am when it comes to love, and let my lips rest there, nothing more. He tries to hold back a shudder, and I can't help but feel as though I've just made someone very lonely very happy. Until….

"Wait!" He pushes me away and looks at my feet, almost shamefully. My smile fades instantly. Have I done something to offend him?

"I'm sorry," he says, "I'm so sorry. I can't do this."

"And why is that?" My vocals carry neither judgment nor anger. I know this is all so new to him, being angry would only push him further away. He holds himself and says meekly,

"I'm not ready. I won't be good enough. You seem so experienced, I'll just bore you. You might end up hating me."

Where in the name of Primus was this coming from? I had to know.

"Were you abused as a sparkling, Prowl?"

No," he answers, "I've just always been this way. I keep to myself, I never do anything social, and as you know, I've never done anything romantic. This just feels so strange to me. I'm almost…"

"Scared?" He gives me a look that tells me I should have kept my mouth shut, but then he sighs and answers,

"A little, yes." My smile returns and I suddenly wrap my arms around him. This time he doesn't push me away.

"You have nothing to fear, darlin'. I'll protect you." He is quiet, allowing me to hold him in my arms before he musters up the courage he needs to reach around and return the hug. It's not the strongest hug, nor is it the most convincing, but it's a start, and that's all I could have asked for at this point.

* * *

Read and review, please!


	3. The Best Feeling in the Universe

**Read and review, por favor.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers.**

**Chapter Three: The Best Feeling in the Universe**

I spend the night with him, the two of us hiding in his room and talking quietly so as not to disturb or wake the other Autobots. We want to know each other, before we get to 'know' each other. I learn he grew up in the village of Su, training to become a Master of Circuit-Su. His history is empty compared to mine. I tell him about my huge family, something he didn't have, and about my education at the Academy, my training in the ways of the Cyberninja, and my life working my way up the ladder of the Elite Guard. Needless to say, he is impressed and a little stunned. He is shocked to hear that I came from a wealthy, well-to-do family from New Iacon.

"Why are you in the Elite Guard?" he asks, incredulous, sitting up abruptly. I chuckle and answer as I pull my visor off to place aside,

"My creators wanted me to take over the family energon business, but that was just too dull to me, y'know? I wanted action, excitement, adventure…and the Guard had it all."

"I assume your creators must be very upset with you."

"Naw. My younger sibling took over the 'biz, she loves stuff like that. My creators are now very proud to say their little sparklin' is a high ranking Autobot Elite guardian. They love it."

"That's wonderful," Prowl says as he lies back down. His optics rest on my face, and I smile for him. He obviously likes it because he smiles back. I giggle and grab his hands affectionately and scoot closer to him. Earlier, he had been moving away from my advancements, but now he is starting to get the hang of it, and he actually shifts a little closer to me. I press my forehead against his and whisper,

"See? Isn't this easy?"

"Yes. I never thought love was so simple," he answers. Oh, no, beautiful, it's far from easy. But I don't tell him that. He doesn't need to know. It might make things difficult for him. I look up at the ceiling and through the giant gap.

"So what's up with the hole in your roof?"

"It was here when we arrived," he explains, "I love organic nature; it's so perfect. This organic life-form here is called a 'tree'," he points to the thing behind me, "It grows naturally in the earth, and gives the humans oxygen to breathe with, shelter from the sun and houses the smaller, non-human organics. It's a wonderful thing. Trees need sunlight and rain to grow, so thanks to the gap in the ceiling, this tree can thrive."

"Wow." This organic stuff is pretty nifty, and Prowl seems pretty infatuated with it. I dim my optics and suddenly say,

"Man, I'm beat. I gotta recharge. How 'bout you?" Prowl answers,

"Yes. It's been a long day."

"'Day'?"

"Mega-cycle," he explains. I nod in understanding; he, and I'm sure his teammates, have been picking up human lingo. Very cool. I feel his hands slip out of mine as he stands up. He reaches down, takes my wrist and says,

"Up, Jazz. We should use my recharge berth. It wouldn't be ideal to go off-line on the floor." I brighten my optics just slightly to give him a mock-annoyed look, get to my own feet and, holding hands, we shuffle drowsily to his berth. Just before his little aft has a chance to hit the surface, I grab him, pressing him up against me and we fall together on the berth, holding back our laughter as best we can. We manage to get by with giggles (his are so awkwardly cute!) and he allows me to hold him protectively in my arms as we both drift off to recharge land. I can feel happiness radiating off him, and he whispers,

"This is the most wonderful feeling in the universe." He sounds so happy, and I find it so hard to believe he's never been in love before. His laughter is awkward, unsure and still a bit nervous, but so incredibly perfect. I nuzzle my face into his neck, pressing my lips against it again, and then, we fall into a deep, relaxed, wonderful recharge.

* * *

We both wake up, in each other's arm, to the sound of someone knocking on his door. A voice calls,

"Hey, Prowl? Are you okay? You've been in recharge, like, all day." My new lover swears and jumps off the berth, ready to open the door, then turns on his heel and looks at me incredulously.

"You must hide," he whispers, "In the tree, don't let anyone see you!" I nod, not at all offended because I would do the same thing, and shaking my head to wake myself up, I leap up into the tree and hide myself well, still able to see my lover and the door. He looks up at me, makes the Cyberninja hand sign for 'I can't see you', which is what we want, and answers his door.

"Hello, Bulkhead." The huge green mech facing the room looks down sheepishly and says,

"Sorry I woke you. I was just kinda worried. You never recharge like that. You're always the first one up, or you're settling down while we're waking up." Prowl waves his hand, as though to wave the worried thoughts away and says,

"Yesterday was just longer than usual. It really tired me out. I apologize for making you worry, Bulkhead." The larger mech smiles, happy at being reassured that his friend is okay, then proceeds to ask him if he wants to watch a movie. Prowl shakes his head and says,

"I'm afraid I cannot, Bulkhead. I must meditate now, seeing as I slept through my morning meditation." The green giant's shoulder's droop noticeably, but he nods and says,

"Okay. Maybe later."

"Maybe later," repeats Prowl, "Until then, perhaps you, Sari and Bumblebee can go play in the park. It's a beautiful day." The giant called Bulkhead brightens at the idea. He smiles a huge smile and says yeah, he'll do that. Prowl gives him a small wave goodbye and proceeds to close the door, but not soon enough. My comm. link suddenly goes off, most likely Magnus trying to find me, and the bigger mech, in protective surprise, pushes the door open and Prowl to the side as he glares threateningly at the tree.

"Get down here," he snarls, sending shivers through my circuits—he means business, boy. I decide to obey, knowing that Prowl will jump in and tell his huge friend to back down. Bulkhead watches me slowly descend from the tree, then eyes me suspiciously.

"You're one of those Elite Guards. Why are you here? Are you here to give us more grief, because if you are, I'll—"

"That's enough, Bulkhead," says Prowl quickly, walking over to face his friend, "We're friends now. Bulkhead, may I properly introduce you to Jazz. Jazz, meet Bulkhead." Bulkhead looks at me oddly, then puts out a hand. I have never seen a gesture like that, so I stick out my hand and they hang there. Perhaps it's an Earth custom? Both Prowl and Bulkhead laugh at my ignorance and explain the meaning of a handshake.

"Hey," says Bulkhead as we perform the handshake (my fingers wrapped around one of his wider ones), "you weren't as much of an aft-head like that Sentinel guy was. You were the cool one; you were interested in the traffic lights."

"Bulkhead!" Prowl protests, shocked his friend would say such a thing, but I wave it off.

"Naw, it's cool, man. Sentinel is an aft-head, everyone knows it. He's a cocky, arrogant jerk is all. Don't let him get to you; he still has some growing up to do." Prowl relaxes, then looks up at his big friend, who looks down at him, somewhat confused. We both know what's coming, and neither of us are quite sure how to explain it….

"I guess I'll let you guys go back to your ninja stuff," Bulkhead suddenly sighs. He turns around and leaves, shutting the door down after him. Prowl and I look at each other, both of us feeling guilty, but the guilt is fleeting as Prowl walks over to me and takes my hands, then presses his lips against my shoulder. I smile and prepare to kiss him back when my comm. link sounds off again. I groan, getting annoyed with all these interruptions, and then I answer the call.

"Um…Hello, Commander."

"Jazz, where the frag have you been?" Ultra Magnus sounds angry, worried and shocked all at the same time. He never swears, unless he's truthfully furious or frightened, and I'm willing to bet on either of those. I answer meekly,

"I, uh, I'm at Optimus Prime's base, sir. I'm—"

"Are you doing what I think you're doing?!" Hoo boy.

"No, sir. We're just talkin', you know, Cyberninja to Cyberninja."

"Jazz…."

"Sir, I swear it. We did nothing, I promise." Silence on my end before I hear him sigh and say,

"I want you to come back right now, Jazz. We'll discuss this when you return. Say goodbye to him for now, you won't be able to see him for a bit." My spark sinks—I know what that means: I'll be spending some time in the brig for my little stunt, but I refuse to let Prowl know that. So I tell Magnus I'll be back on the ship soon, and hang up. I look at Prowl, whose face has fallen. He must have heard the entire conversation.

"I'm sorry," he says as he clutches my hands again, "I didn't want you to get into trouble." I smile and pull my hands out of his and gently cup his face in them, lifting upwards so I can look into those beautiful optics of his.

"It ain't your fault, darlin'. I did this to myself, and I'll probably do it again. I'm in love, and love makes me do crazy things. I'll be back before you know it, don't you worry. No commander is gonna keep me away from you, no matter what." He looks at me with sad, worried optics. I chuckle and continue,

"Don't be sad, now. I promise I'll return to you." I lean down and firmly kiss his neck, which seems to have become our thing, and reluctantly release him from my gentle grip. I turn around and leap into the tree, to the roof and out to the street.

I can hear him falling to the floor, clutching at his love-struck spark happily. Primus, I live for falling in love.

* * *

And I love Bulkhead. He's so innocently cute and oblivious, but not as much as I thought he would be. Bumblebee is more of the oblivious moron, really. Anyway, hope you guys like it so far!

-Juana


	4. The Best Bad Timing

**HOLY CRAP. NEARLY 800 HITS IN THE FIRST DAY. I love you all. I'm so happy you all like it so far! I was afraid it wasn't going to be very good. Ah. I feel awesome. I checked my email, and WHAM! 38 emails regarding the story. You guys are too awesome.**

**OH! One more thing—NineCrow reminded me that this is tied with my other TFA story, "Absolutely (Im)Perfect". Please go and read that before you get any further with this one, or you might be slightly confused.**

**More on the way!**

**-Juana**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers.**

**Chapter Four: The Best Bad Timing**

I arrive back at the ship with a slight knot in my circuits and a head full of wonderful things. I almost can't feel apprehensive about being locked in the brig for a while, not when my spark is almost exploding with joy. It's a lame thing to say, but I don't care. I really do feel wonderful, and the positive feeling rolls off me in waves.

Ultra Magnus and Sentinel Prime are waiting for me, Sentinel wearing an excited, childish look on his face, the kind a sparkling wears when they've gotten a least favorite classmate in trouble, while my commander, Ultra Magnus…

"Jazz, front and center." His voice is tight, constricted. He does not sound happy at all by my actions. I obey him and step forward, head held high, ready to accept my punishment. I don't even flinch as he opens his mouth to speak.

"Jazz, your behavior today is appalling. Not only did you leave the base without telling anyone, you went uninvited to our comrades' base. You intruded on their privacy and that, soldier, is frowned upon in the Elite Guard."

"Yes, sir. I understand, sir." Primus, it's so hard keeping a straight face.

"You understand that because of your insubordinate behavior, I have to send you to the brig as punishment?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. One mega-cycle in the brig, no more, no less." Both Sentinel's and my jaw drop.

"ONE mega-cycle?!" yells Sentinel, "that's it?! But he—"

"Are you questioning my authority, Sentinel?"

"Sir, with all due respect, Jazz deserves at least three mega-cycles in the brig. He left the ship without informing you, me or anyone else, and—"

"Jazz had his reasons. I think he may have jumped the gun, and I would advise him to take his time. But I do not believe he has earned more than one mega-cycle in the brig. Jazz, please go to the brig, someone there already knows your punishment. We'll see you in a mega-cycle."

"Yes, sir," I say as I salute him, "and thank you." He nods and I walk past him and the stunned Sentinel, who's sputtering and trying to make sense of the whole situation. I can't help but smile as I walk to the brig. Magnus is no fool—I'm sure that at my age, he would have done the same irresponsible thing for love. Of course, that doesn't excuse me from doing it, and I'll probably do it again, and receive the same punishment, maybe a bit more severe, but in the end, it's all worth it.

I'm in love, and that's all that really matters right now. I refuse to let anything get in the way of my or Prowl's happiness. As I walk to the brig, Sentinel, probably having been dismissed, runs after me and stops me for a moment.

"What is going on?" he growls. He is not happy about this situation at all, and he makes no attempt to hide his anger at me and, I assume, Magnus. I roll my optics, thankful they're hidden behind my visor, and say to the incredibly childish Sentinel in exasperation,

"Sentinel, don't worry about it. This ain't your problem, it's mine. I will worry about it, I will be punished for it, and I will live my life afterwards. Stay out of it, please."

"No," he presses on, a hand on my arm, "I want to know where you were, who you were with, what you were doing, and most importantly, how you got off the ship without anyone noticing."

"All of that," I tell him with a wink, "is a big, wonderful Jazzy-only secret. Now, if you don't mind, I have a punishment to get done with. See ya." I brush him off and continue my walk. I know that the sooner I get to the brig, the sooner I can return to my beloved, and that's that. Sentinel does not follow; instead he stands where I left him, stunned and angrier than ever, clenching his fists in frustration as he watches me go.

I reach the brig and salute the guard there. He nods grimly, but I pay him no heed. He might be concerned, but I'm not. I enter the brig, but not before reminding him that I am only meant to be there for a full mega-cycle, no more…a day, as Prowl put it, and the guard nods. I sit down on the cold floor, even though there is a perfectly good recharge berth in the corner, watch the door shut, and off-line my optics.

I decide to dream about him while I'm here. There's not much else to do, really.

* * *

Half of my punishment is over. Still half a mega-cycle to go. I wake up and shake my head to clear out the usual buzzing in the back of my head. I had some wonderful dreams, but now, I'm back online and getting bored. Sometimes I sing, sometimes I dance, and sometimes I think of my better ideas and how to propose them to Ultra Magnus. Mostly I just sing and dance like the fool I am.

I cannot open comm. links with others while in the brig, but I've had others establish them with me and not get detected. I just hope to get lucky. I know Prowl won't do it—he won't risk me getting into more trouble, he's a good kid from what I can—

_Bzzzt!_

Solid, man. He's established a link with me, and I couldn't be happier. I answer right away, but quietly.

"Hey, baby. What's shakin'?" He answers quietly,

"I wanted to make sure you were all right. Were you punished for coming here last night?"

"Don't worry about—"

"Were you?" I sigh, then answer truthfully (lying, I've found out the hard way, always killed a relationship),

"Yes. But you have nothin' to worry about, baby. I get in trouble all the time." A small silence follows my words, and I can hear his systems whirring away. It's a beautiful sound, and as much as I want to hear his vocals again, I have no problem listening to his inner machinery. A few tense moments, and then,

"Why do you get into trouble often, Jazz?"

"For the thrill, beautiful. I love it. Getting caught, eh…. Not so much. I'm a thrill-seeker. Runnin' off to see you is just the beginnin', you can count on that."

"Jazz, if this is going to tarnish your record, I don't think we should do this."

"Primus, you're cute. Sweetheart, my record is full of stuff you've probably never heard of or done before. This is not a problem for me, I've done worse."

"But—"

"Tell me about your day." I decide it's time to end this part of the conversation. I tell myself that when I get out of here, I'll go and tell him some of my horror stories, just to make him feel better. He sounds upset, and I hope to Primus our relationship hasn't already gone to the Pit.

"…Very well. If you say you've done worse, then I believe you." YES! Primus, I love him.

"Cool, baby. So, tell me, what'd you do after I left?" He pauses, then says,

"I went to talk to Bulkhead. He and I are close friends, you see, and we spend quite a lot of time together. He's a harmless, gentle thing, and his feelings are easily hurt. So I went to him and apologized for earlier. He does not suspect anything between us. Only that we are both trained in the art of the Cyberninja."

"Aw. I like him a lot. He seems like a cool guy to chill with He's really protective, too."

"Indeed he is. He was fine after I spoke to him. I asked him to not mention seeing you to the others, too. I didn't want them to know. Not yet."

"Yeah," I agree, "I don't think anyone is ready. Heck, I don't think _we're_ ready, sweetheart. This is all very new for you."

"What about you? I know you're experienced, but how experienced?" The question catches me off-guard, but then I remember I that I want to be honest with him, so I tell him,

"I've had the occasional mate. I learned a bit from them, but this is the first time I've ever felt anything real. I've never spark-bonded, though."

"Good," he answers, "I'm glad one of us has had experience. I wouldn't feel as ready for it if neither of us knew what we were doing." I silently gasp a sigh of relief—I had honestly thought he would have been upset about my having past relationships, but luckily, he embraces it. I smile to myself, and then, I hear footsteps, ominous and getting close.

"Slag. Prowl, I have to go. Someone's coming. I'll be back soon, I promise." I cut the link before he can say goodbye, jump up and start to dance and sing quietly. The door opens and in steps Ultra Magnus, looking calmer now that he's had some time to chill out. I stop my dancing and salute him respectfully. He grins and shakes his head, then takes a seat on the berth.

"Jazz," he says, "come here. Let's talk."

"Yes, sir." I sit down beside him, waiting for him to speak. He sighs, then says,

"I'll pretend I didn't heard you talking to your friend just now. That's what I wanted to talk to you about, as I'm sure you've guessed. Jazz," At this point he looks at me carefully, then continues, "I've said it once, and I guess I must say it again. You need to be careful, and there's yet another reason for this. I recently returned from having a discussion with Optimus Prime--" I grab his arm, my smile wiped clean off my face and gasp. Magnus resumes,

"Calm yourself, Jazz. You're going to be upset with me, and you have every right to be, but after some disturbing things he told me, I had to inform him of your new romance with his soldier."

"But. . . why?" I'm more than just angry, I'm furious. I grip his arm tighter, unaware I'm doing it, and all I can think is how much I want to pound my fist into his old, worn face. Ultra Magnus stays calm despite it all, making me even angrier, then turns to face me straight-forward and takes my own arms in his hands.

"Listen to me, Jazz. I would not have told him if he hadn't told me what he did. But he needed to, and a lucky thing he did. Listen…LISTEN." Magnus has to shake me to get me to look at him. I am pissed, and I let him know it. But I listen, because if there is a threat, I want to know. I need to protect my Prowl. I allow Magnus to continue.

"There is a bounty hunter loose on this planet, by the name of Lockdown, and the Autobots ran into him at one point. Back during the Great War, he was a very young but very talented hunter, and he worked mainly for the Decepticons, kidnapping Autobots, torturing them and getting any information he could from them before taking some sort of 'trophy' from them, like a weapon. Their medic even had a run-in with him back then. Took his EMP generator. Optimus was kidnapped by this bounty hunter once before."

"And?" I ask roughly, trying very hard to maintain my cool, "What does this have to do with me an' Prowl?"

"Jazz, you are one of the few most skilled, talented, and not to mention famous Cyberninjas there are. You're also a high-ranking Elite Guard. Now you're on a new planet, filled with weak organics who wouldn't be able to help you in the event he finds you. Lockdown already knows Optimus and his crew are here, chances are if he's been watching them, he's seen you, too. I'm saying that the two of you need to be extra careful. If Megatron is truly here, he will send this bounty hunter after any of us—you, me, Sentinel, Optimus, even your Prowl. He'll do impossible ransom, torture, mutilation; anything to get what he needs for the Decepticons, Jazz. Do you understand why I had to tell him?"

He releases my arms and I stare at the floor, upset, worried and feeling somewhat sick. I mumble, just barely audible,

"Sir? I need to lie down." He nods and gets off the berth, allowing me to lie down and off-line my optics. The idea of someone taking my sweetheart away from me is terrifying. No, I tell myself, I refuse to let anyone touch him. I refuse to let anyone hurt him. I swear to myself that I will protect him with all my spark, and die for him if have to. No harm will come to my Prowl. Never.

Ultra Magnus seems to be reading my mind.

"Jazz," he says calmly as he places a hand on my shoulder, "I know you'll protect him. I wanted you to know right away, because this is important. I know this relationship is very new, especially for him, seeing as I was told he's an introverted little thing, and I know that you would want me to tell you. Before it's too late, Jazz. You should be extra alert."

"I'm always alert sir," I cough, "and I won't let anything happen to him. Or me. What else did Optimus tell you?"

"He told me that there are five Decepticons, not including this Lockdown. They consist of a power-hungry Seeker, an unstable triple-changer, a half-organic femme, a large Megatron-worshipping fanatic, and Megatron himself. I've already told Sentinel all of this, so—"

"Just about the Decepticons or me and Prowl as well?"

"Just the Decepticons, Jazz. Don't worry. Although I get the feeling now, despite what I said earlier, that he'll leave you, and me, alone if you just tell him. The curiosity is going to fester in his processor until he finds out. You know that."

I make a sort of snorting sound, then reply,

"Yeah. Big fragger asks us to not ask about his past and weird relationships, and here he is doing the exact opposite. Maybe he and Optimus had a thing going on back in the day, and that's why they're not getting along now."

"It's possible, yes," Magnus answers thoughtfully, "But right now, I don't care about it. I wanted you to know about this bounty hunter—Lockdown—and I want you to be careful. Do not allow yourself to be kidnapped. It would be most unfortunate."

"Of course, sir." I remain on the berth, motionless and quiet, thinking about methods and techniques I need to practice, and to teach Prowl. We should both train—well, all of us should be trained just a bit on Circuit-Su—and make ourselves ready to battle if the need arises. I'd rather that never happened, but one can never be too careful.

Magnus pats my arm and says,

"You have a little less than a mega-cycle to go, so just rest and I'll come to let you out then. Then I'll see if you can go back to him for a bit. Just get some rest, Jazz."

He leaves the brig, leaving me to think, to worry and to fear, alone, cold, quiet, scared.

Rest, he tells me. How can I rest after being told there's a deranged bounty hunter out there, waiting, watching and anticipating our every move? What if he attacks while I'm still stuck in here? What if he goes after my sweetheart? What if he kills everyone I know and leaves me alone, tortured by the memory of those I could have protected?

I tell myself I'm being paranoid. No bounty hunter would just kill their prey. They would keep their victims, hurt them, make them talk using nefarious techniques, mutilation, any kind of abuse they wanted. This one wouldn't just kill my darling, he would torture him.

It's at this moment I realize I need to be more careful about my thrill-seeking. Yes, I love being bad at times and there's a ton of stuff I want Prowl to experience, considering he's so quiet and mild-mannered. But now, going off and being myself suddenly seems so insignificant compared to losing Prowl. I refuse to let it happen.

It's time to be good, I tell myself. No more being a bad boy, it's time to get serious, grow up and stop the adventure, for now at least. I still plan on having this 'fairy tale romance' that the human children love so much, and I refuse to have anything get in the way. I decide I can't just wait here and do nothing. If anything, I should practice, just to keep myself in tip-top shape. I get off the berth and start, kicking, punching, jumping and practicing with my weapons, all the while not even a scratch of noise.

I'm just that good.


	5. Back in My Arms

**I think I might faint. People really like this story…!**

**Um… this is one of my shorter chapters…please don't be mad! More is one the way! I promise!**

**-Juana**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers.**

**Chapter Five: Back In My Arms**

The moment Ultra Magnus unlocks the door and gives me permission to leave, I race out of the brig. I'm jogging at a semi-slow pace, but I still manage to spin him around as I grab his shoulder as I tell him where I'm off to and if anything happens, let me know right away. He opens his mouth to say something, but it's too late—I'm gone. Racing past the fearful drones, past the control rooms, past sentinel, who is clearly still upset, and outside, where I transform and speed off to the Autobots' base.

My spark is pounding, whether it be from excitement or anxiety, and no matter what, I feel I need to be there, right now. I know I'm over-reacting, and I know that when I get to my destination, Prowl will tell me I'm over-reacting, and when I return to the ship, Magnus will tell me I've over-reacted. And I don't care. Better safe than sorry.

As I skid to a halt outside their base, the little yellow guy—Bumblebee—and his little organic friend come running, giant smiles on their faces. They're so young, so innocent—if anything ever happened to them, I'd be devastated.

"Hi, Jazz!" Bumblebee calls, sounding genuinely excited to see me. I transform and smile back, not letting him see my uncalled-for panic. It seems everything is okey-dokey, smoky here, so I allow myself to calm my over-heating systems. Bumblebee and his little organic friend finally run up in front of me, and he lifts her up with one hand.

"Do you remember my name?" it asks suddenly, showing me a toothy grin, and I answer truthfully,

"Sorry, no."

"You just said it, silly!"

"No?"

"Sari!"

"Sorry?"

"Sari," says Bumblebee, "it's pronounced like the apology, but spelled differently." I nod and reply,

"Cool. Listen, kids, is Prowl around? I came here to ask him something."

"Sure," says Bumblebee, "he's in his room, probably hiding in his room and being boring. You have some ninja business to attend to?"

"Nah, just a question about some organic thing he showed me."

"Well," said Sari, "I could help you! What is it?" Aw. She's so cute and eager.

"Nothing important, kiddo. Now, I don't want to keep you from playing any longer. Besides, I may end up doing some of that boring ninja stuff too. Maybe you should join us for some meditation." Both of them make a grimace and look at each other before Bumblebee darts off, toting his little friend with him. I turn around to make my way over to my destination when I bump into Ratchet, the famous, aging medic from the Great War.

"You certainly have a way with kids," he chuckles, "That's one way to keep 'em outta yer circuits." I laugh and answer,

"Yeah, well, I remember bein' a kid m'self, and my sister an' I used to play. Whenever she had her little friends over, they would want to reconstruct me into a femme, and that always kept me away from them to do whatever it is femmes do." Ratchet nods and says,

"Prowl is in the main room. I just saw him. He was in his room all day up until a few breems ago. Just between us, I know about this new thing goin' on between the two of you, Magnus told me an' Optimus, so if any problems come up, you know where to find me. You'd be amazed what I've seen in my day."

"Oh, uh, thanks, doc," I say, somewhat uneasy, "I'll keep that in mind." I walk off, hoping for no more distractions, and amazingly enough, I don't run into anyone else. I enter the base and look around, trying to locate their main room, the one with all the nifty media things. I listen and follow the sound of a broadcast from a human channel, something about a flying organic creature, until I reach the room I'm searching for.

Only problem is, Prowl's not there. He's not on the floor, he's not on the couch, he's not even hanging from the rafters in the ceiling. I look around and realize he's planning to ambush me, I just don't know where from. And I certainly can't play his little game, because he's obviously watching me. So I consider what I know and make a pretty darn good hypothesis, if you ask me.

I remember he's black, so my optics dart around the room for all the shadowy areas. I find several, and of course he's going to move the instant I lunge toward one. I watch each shadowed section carefully for any movement, but there's nothing to see. I grin wickedly, hoping he can see it, and decide to just take a chance. It's more fun like this anyways.

I lunge swiftly for a small darkened area to my left, and unbelievably, I knock right into him and we both tumble to the floor. He lands on top of me, completely surprised, and asks,

"Did I move?" I laugh and pull him toward me,

"No. I just guessed. I woulda figured you'd be in one o' the bigger shadows. You're a sneaky, tiny little thing." I hug him, then whisper,

"I have to talk to you about something, but we should go to your room." He nods and gets off, then helps me to my feet. We walk off to his room, and pass Optimus Prime along the way. He gives us a semi-odd, semi-curious look, but then smiles a bit and says hello to me. We exchange greetings before he walks off.

Once in Prowl's room, the door is locked and we both leap up into the tree, making our way to the top. Up there, we can see the entire city, and it's a beautiful sight to behold. I reach over and grab him, pulling him closer to me. He clearly loves the attention, because he presses himself closer and soon, I've got my arms around him tightly, protectively. Just the way I want it.

"So," he starts with a content little sigh, "what is it that you wished to discuss with me?"

"Well," I sigh deeply, not exactly excited about what needs to be said, "my commander, Ultra Magnus, came here earlier and—"

"I know, I saw him here."

"Do you know what your commander told him?"

"About us? Yes." Geez. This was a freebie. Prowl continued,

"Optimus told me after he left. I admit I was a bit upset, and also surprised at how quickly word spread. Ratchet came to me and told me that if we ever—"

"Oh, I know, sweetheart," I say as I rub my forehead against the back of his head, "He told me too. No worries, though. There aren't any viruses I could accidentally upload into your system. I'm assuming you don't have any yourself?"

"I'm clean," he answers, and I squeeze him a bit tighter, nuzzling my head into his neck. He sharply takes in air as I do it, and I now know that his neck is incredibly sensitive. He'll love anything I do to it. I smile into his neck and whisper,

"You're adorable, you know that?" He smirks.

"Oh? Everyone else says I'm cold, boring and a malfunction. How did you come to this far-fetched conclusion of yours?"

"Call it a hunch." I can feel his fingers rubbing my arms, and I giggle.

"I'm ticklish, you. Don't do it, otherwise you'll be sorry." He stops instantly, taking me seriously. I squeeze him again and say,

"Hey, I'm joking. You know that, right?"

"You were?" He sounds genuinely surprised.

"Yeah. If you did it again, chances are I'd tickle you back. That's all." Man, he may be cute, but he doesn't know a damn thing about being in love. And that makes him even more adorable. I snuggle against him, earning his sharp little fingers back on my arm. We sit there in silence for a bit, then suddenly, he becomes very tense.

"Hey, baby," I ask, concerned, "are you okay?" He answers, his vocals sounding somewhat upset,

"Did I do something wrong?" Damn, he's paranoid.

"No," I answer, "why? Do you think you did?"

"I figured since you weren't saying anything, something was wrong." Yep. Definitely paranoid.

"No, no. There's nothing wrong, sweetheart. It's perfectly normal to sit and stay quiet with the one you love. Believe me, if there's something wrong, I'll tell you. I don't want to lie to you."

"All right, then," he answers, "thank you. I was just worried. I really don't know what I'm supposed to do, Jazz." I chuckle; his awkwardness and lack of experience is amusing. I reassure him.

"Prowl, don't you worry. I told you, I'm a good teacher—I'll help you along the way. I'm here for you, okay? Just relax, and we'll take this really slow. Sound good?"

"Yes," answers, then gasps as I nibble on his neck a bit. Primus, I'm loving this. After a few breems of sitting in the tree together, we start to feel restless. We help each other to our feet and make our way down to the floor. He and I stare at each other for a few moments before he says,

"Have you been to the park yet?"

"What's a park? Is it like, parking yourself?" I think I just made myself sound stupid.

"No," he laughs, "a park is a large outdoor center for organics to go. They exercise, play and even perform mating rituals there, although I don't think they're supposed to do that stuff in public. It's also popular for being the center of social activities, like parties. Would you like to see it?"

"Sounds good to me," I answer. I reach out to grab his hand, pull him into my chest and kiss his forehead. He rests against me, warm and content before he leaves my arms and transforms. I follow suit and we speed out of the base towards this 'park'.

* * *

Dude, I just found my favorite old "Lil' LuLu" cartoon on YouTube. Swingin' on a star, kids.


	6. The Park Incident

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers.**

**Chapter Six: The Park Incident**

I fall in love with the park the instant I see it. The funkiest, coolest organics are there, all of them individuals, as though each were custom designed. It's so cool, and I can hardly believe that my quiet, introverted little Prowl is a fan of this park.

There are organics running in groups, running after their little organics, and little organics chasing after each other. Youngling organics sit against trees, kissing and holding one another, and older organics sitting together on benches, talking or just enjoying their time together. It's definitely one of the nicest, most joyful places I've ever been. Not even Cybertron has such a wonderful place of leisure and recreation. I'm so busy looking around and taking in the sights that I don't even notice that Prowl's trying to pull me over to look at something else. It isn't until he faces me and taps my head that I look at him and say,

"Oh, hi there, sweetheart! This place is cool!"

"Follow me," he says with a huge smile, "I want to show you the pond."

"Okay." I take his hand, and he nearly pulls it away, but then changes his mind.

"Some humans dislike seeing individuals of the same gender holding hands or being intimate," he explains, "and while we are technically gender-less, the humans have designated us as 'males', judging by our vocal frequencies and build." He allows me to take his hand and pulls me along.

"Really?" I ask, very much interested, "that's weird. Gender is an organic thing only, right? Weird. But if they protest, we'll just explain ourselves."

"If they'll listen," Prowl sighs as he walks us over to our new destination, "humans can be very unforgiving and hateful. Their time is so short—they should spend their time being positive and loving. Oh! Here, this is the pond I wanted to show you. Look—those little organics in the water are called 'ducks'." He points to the water, and I smile as a small group of these little fuzzy—"feathers," says Prowl—organics wade around. I reach out to touch one, and it starts to make this insane sound that manages to hurt my audios. I recoil in horror from the thing, and Prowl chuckles.

"You scared it," he says, giving me a mock-slap on the arm. I stare at him, somewhat dumbfounded by the duck's reaction to me, then grab him and pull him close, despite whether or not the humans care. I hold him tightly, look around and find the perfect tree to disappear into. With a sneaky smile, I knock his feet out from beneath him and catch him in my arms.

"Hang on!" I laugh as I start to run, gaining momentum as I do so. I feel his arms tighten around me; he's surprised, no doubt, and that makes me go even faster.

"Jazz!" I hear him yelling, "What are you doing!?" I answer him by jumping over a group of humans lying on the ground, doing a flip in the air and grabbing onto a branch of the tree with my legs. We hang there, upside-down for a moment before I let him go. He easily swings out of my arms and links his own legs around the branch, hanging there and glaring at me with disbelief.

"What?" I ask, an innocent smile slapped across my face. He doesn't look angry, but he does look somewhat shaken.

"You could have stepped on someone," he protests, "Organics are very fragile!"

"And yet, none of 'em got squished," I say with a stupid grin. He sighs, then says,

"Would you like to explain why you did that?"

"Oh, y'know. Just wanted a chance to show-off. Strut my stuff. Show you how cool I am. Admit it, you think I'm cool, baby."

"I think you're interesting, but 'cool' is something I am unfamiliar with, Jazz. You'll have to excuse me for that. Bumblebee seems to think he is 'cool', and makes a show of himself whenever he can, so my idea of 'cool' is somewhat tainted."

"Ah-ha. I see now. Well, seems I have another thing to teach you, darlin'. Lesson number one: I am the definition of cool. There is no one cooler than me, nor will there ever be. Once I am deactivated forever, none shall ever be as cool as I was. Remember that, I'll be quizzin' you later."

He smiles and giggles. Giggles! And Primus, I love that little smile of his! I'm amazed I'm attracted to him and vice versa—we're so different, so unlike one another. He's quiet, awkward, calm and articulate. I'm loud, fabulous, out-going and my speech ain't exactly perfect. But none of these differences seem to be getting in the way, because he's not showing any signs of dislike or discomfort. All right, maybe a little discomfort, but that's only because I've pulled him out of his shell. He's going to be social now whether he likes it or not.

We hang in the tree in silence for a long time, humans running about beneath us, trying to talk to us, but we smile slightly and ignore them. The sun starts to go down, and the humans start to leave, allowing Prowl and me some alone time in this exciting park.

After the last humans have left, I fall gracefully from the tree and land soundlessly on my feet. Prowl follows, and we're back in each other's arms. We gaze at each other, lost in the other's opt—okay, lost in each other's visors, until I lean forward and whisper into his audios,

"Is it still too soon to ask for a real kiss?" He whispers back,

"I'm afraid so."

"Then I guess I'll just have to wait." I squeeze him tighter, feeling his warmth against mine, and it charges the air around us. I listen to the sounds of his systems, his tanks, all whirring away, working hard to keep him online. His internal systems are very, very quiet, but they are not silent. My own system is a bit louder, working just a bit harder to keep up with me and my over-active lifestyle.

He sighs deeply, and I look down at him.

"Is something wrong?"

"No," he answers quickly, "I'm just…I like this. A lot. It's different, and I've avoided interactions such as this, but I really like you, Jazz. I enjoy being around you." His words tug at my spark. I can't believe I've made someone this happy. His smile is genuine; his words are not to be taken lightly. He is serious, and he is the happiest he's probably ever been.

He suddenly seems to change his mind about allowing me to kiss him, because his hand snakes around to the back of my head and starts to push my face closer to his. My lips hover just above his, and we're so close, so very close yet taking our sweet time. He wants it to be perfect, I can tell.

The instant I decide to move in for the kiss something suddenly tugs him away from me. He slips out of my arms, no matter how tightly I held him, and my first response is to look up and see why.

I gasp at the sight before me.

He's huge. I mean really huge. He's tall, he's monstrous in appearance and he's incredibly threatening. He holds Prowl up, one huge hand gripping his back, and Prowl is struggling to break free. The huge mech gazes at me, head to the side, a delicate though wicked smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Cute," he says, his voice deep and smooth, "At first, I didn't want to interfere. And then I thought, hey, I should get in on this action. And so, here I am."

"Put him down," I order, standing still and keeping my weapons hidden until the right moment, "just let him go and there'll be no problems." The mech chuckles and pulls Prowl into his chest. Prowl makes a move and swipes at the mech's face with his sharp fingers, earning a yell of anger and pain from him. But he doesn't let go. Instead, he flips Prowl around so that's he's facing me, and pins both of his arms behind his own back.

"I don't think so," says the mech, "Not after waiting for so long on this rolling dirtball. I've wanted him since the moment I first engaged in battle with him."

"Lockdown," Prowl growls, "release me, or I promise you will be in a world of hurt."

Lockdown? THIS is Lockdown? Oh man. No one told me he was so fraggin' huge. He's a beast! I tell myself I can take him down, along with Prowl's help, and I tell myself I will rip his entire body apart is he hurts my lil' darlin'.

"Bounty hunter," I hiss, "release him, NOW. You wouldn't want me to call in the Elite Guard now, would you? Nah, there's no need for that. So why don't you just put him down and we'll get along just fine."

Lockdown throws his head back and laughs. Not just any laugh—this laughter is filled with a daunting kind of enjoyment, excitement…it's sadistic, I realize.

"What do you want?" I ask angrily, starting to lose my patience. I never lose my patience, nor do I ever get angry. I look at Prowl, and the expression on his face is pure rage. I was hoping I'd never have to see him like this. He is still for a moment, then slides his arms out from behind him rapidly and kicks off of Lockdown in one swift, graceful, powerful movement. One more reason to love him, I think.

Prowl lands gracefully beside me, weapons at the ready, and prepared to kick some major bounty hunter aft. He looks pissed, and I can understand why. Our perfect moment, ruined by some (massive) aft-head, and for what? Actually, I decide that I don't know why exactly he came after us. We exchange looks, reading each other's expressions and make our jointed attack on our new foe.

The attack is simple, but effective. Somewhat. Prowl, being the smaller and lighter Cyberninja, goes for Lockdown's upper body right away, while I attack Lockdown's legs. I deliver a kick straight for the knees, taking them out from under him, and he falls to the ground with a near-deafening crash. Prowl, I see, has made several slices into the bounty hunter's shoulders, and returns to my side. We stand together, stances ready for another attack, but then something unexpected changes our plans.

Lockdown, while down but not out, lashes out with an electrically charged whip, slashing both of us across our chests. The charge doesn't kill us, nor does it off-line us temporarily. Instead, it paralyzes us, making us unable to protect ourselves or each other. We both fall to the ground with grunts, and are lucky enough to fall facing each other. Even worse than being paralyzed, we try to speak, and discover we're mute as well! As much as I hate to admit it, I'm scared. And fear is written all over Prowl's face as well. We both know which one of us is going with Lockdown. I struggle to move my arms, to grab my beloved, but of course, it's to no avail.

Lockdown gets up slowly, taking his sweet time. This action tells me that we'll be paralyzed for a long time. He groans in pain as he struggles to his feet once more, and he falls back down more than once. I smirk, glad to know that we've at least managed to injure him, even if just a bit. When he finally makes it up, he staggers over to us, almost drunkenly, and reaches down to grab Prowl's arm. Energon drips from his newly acquired wounds onto Prowl's chassis, his face, his arms. Lockdown looks at the energon with disapproving optics.

"You sliced me up, Autobot," he sneers as he pulls Prowl up to face him, "You're gonna pay for that little stunt." Prowl's head rolls back; he can't hold his head up—his paralysis is just that bad. Lockdown rolls his optics, then reaches up with his hooked arm and catches Prowl's chin with it.

"Look at me," he growls, "The last time we fought, you got the drop on me, and now you've sliced me up. You're pesky, is what you are. And I'm gonna make you hurt for it. Now wave goodbye to your boyfriend, you won't see him ever again. Oh wait, you _can't_ say goodbye. Ah well. Not my problem. See ya la—oh my Primus…." Lockdown cradles Prowl in one arm while he reaches down and grabs my shoulder to turn me over a bit. His optics can hardly believe what's he's seeing: my high-ranking Autobot insignia. It's not just any Autobot insignia; it's the Elite Guard insignia, reserved exclusively for Autobots worthy enough to join the Elite Guard. He must not have believed me before when I said I'd call in the Elite Guard.

Lockdown knows he's struck a real treasure by spotting it, and he picks me up easily, as though I were a toy. He's gentle, though, treating me with extreme care. I can feel his disbelief and excitement rolling off him in strong, jittery waves. He has a High Standing Elite Guard, one of the most highly trained, famous Cyberninjas known to Cybertron, right here in his clutches.

He just can't believe his luck, and I can't believe my misfortune. Lockdown is struck with excitement and disbelief, so he shifts Prowl into his hooked arm, grabs me with his good arm, then throws Prowl on top of me. We are unable to speak to one another, so I try to open a wireless connection with him.

"Ah-ah," says Lockdown, shaking us a bit, "I can hear you. Close that line, or I'll rip one of your boyfriend's arms off." I attempt a growl, but nothing comes out. So I obey, not wanting to risk harming Prowl.

Lockdown hauls us through the park, jumping, hiding, sneaking and making his way down to the edge of a lake—Lake Eerie, I remember Bulkhead telling me—then plunges into the lake, holding us tightly. I try to gasp as the outline of a huge ship, with edges so sharp it could slice another ship in two, starts to materialize in the dark water. I feel my fingers start to twitch—the cold water is waking my system up! I remain as still as possible, not allowing myself even a bit of movement. I want to catch him off-guard.

An airlock opens and grants us access, then Lockdown drains the excess water and says,

'Welcome home, sparklings." He dumps us carelessly on separate tables and straps us down, despite our being paralyzed. He stares at me for a breem or two, almost lost for words once again. He reaches down and runs a hand over my insignia, as though checking to see if it's real or not. Satisfied, he moves on over to Prowl and places a hand on his head. I flex my hand as he turns away. I can feel my arms again; my legs still need some time.

"You're far cuter," Lockdown purrs to Prowl in a way that makes me jealous, "so I won't hurt you. I just want to play is all. Now, just be nice and quiet, and we'll get this done fas—oh, my. Seems you aren't as skilled a Cyberninja as I thought you were." He places his hand on Prowl's lower abdomen, where his mark of expertise is located, a simple upside-down triangle, informing any other Cyberninjas of his status and experience. Lockdown looks over at mine.

"I see you're the professional," he says observantly, "You have double stripes. You know much more, you can do more. Why spend your time romancing a lower-level youngling?" I want so badly to leap off the table and rip his vocals out, his spark, anything to keep him away from Prowl, but I still cannot move fully. I can only watch helplessly as Lockdown laughs, then leans down to kiss Prowl's cheek. Prowl, who always seems to stoic, so strong, allows his optics to leak as he's being kissed, and Lockdown notices.

:Oh, what's wrong, gorgeous? I'm not gonna hurt you. Just relax, and let me—"

_BZZZT._

"What the frag?" Lockdown turns his head and glares impatiently at his screen. He's getting a call, and I pray to Primus he answers it. I need the extra time to regain the use of my legs. He hesitates, his fingers lingering softly on Prowl's chassis, but his screen demands an audience, so he moves to answer it, grumbling. I can feel my legs start to return to normal, and I risk turning my head to look at Prowl. He turns his head ever so slightly as his optics catch my movement, and his face is riddled with fear. It's as if he's never been frightened before.

Lockdown answers his call with a sneer.

"Who is this?" He is standing in front of the screen, so I am unable to make out the caller. His voice is soft, touched by a slight accent, and low.

"Do not speak to me with such insubordination, bounty hunter. You knew very well I was going to call you back shortly after we last spoke. Now, did you capture one of the Autobots? Preferably not the big, dumb one? Hopefully you found Optimus Prime for me?" Lockdown mumbled something, then answered,

"No, I caught two Autobots. The dark Cyberninja, and an Elite Guard."

There was silence for a moment, then the caller shifted in his seat.

"An Elite…Guard? Bounty hunter, I am not paying you to make jokes, I am—oh, Primus." Lockdown steps aside and gestures towards me, his proof. I gasp as I set my optics upon the caller.

Megatron. Optimus Prime was right…Megatron is here….

"Now, then," says Lockdown, now wearing a bit of a triumphant grin as he turns back to Megatron, "you should expect I require an added bonus for the Guard. After all, he's famous."

"Famous…do tell, bounty hunter."

"Ever heard of Jazz?"

"Indeed. One of the best Cyberninjas ever to grace Cybertron. Tell me how you found him here."

"A few days ago, the Elite Guard showed up on this floating dirtball. This one fell in love with the other, lesser Autobot. I found them together in the local public facility, and took them both. They're paralyzed at them moment."

"Wonderful," smiles Megatron, clearly delighted, "very well, Lockdown. You shall receive an added bonus for this catch. I want both of them. The smaller one you can keep after we've interrogated him, but The Guard I want. We can develop a plan with him. Perhaps hold him for ransom, in exchange for something? If the Elite Guard is here, then that means Ultra Magnus is here…I want him, and Optimus Prime. The Autobots are nothing without their leaders, we all know that."

I listen intently, determination growing in my spark. I don't risk moving now that Megatron is facing me. I notice something—someone—waving in the background, and for a moment, I assume it's just a crazy Decepticon, but then I realize it's tiny. There's a human in there! It's trying to get my attention, or maybe Prowl's, but either way, I see it, and I make a mental note to mention it to Prowl when we get out of here.

Lockdown and Megatron discuss payment for a few breems, and in that time, I regain all feeling in my legs, as well as my arms and torso. I want to speak, to see if I can do it again, but I risk nothing. I wait until Megatron is done jabbering on. Finally, the two finalize their conversation, and Megatron warms him that if anything goes wrong, he'll have Lockdown's head. The bounty hunter mumbles something, then cuts the connection.

"Big fragger," he says, "he thinks he can push me around. I'm not even a Decepticon. All right, you two, stay here," he laughs at his joke, "and I'll be right back. I need some energon before I play with your boyfriend." He walks off to some storage unit down a hall way (I can hear his footsteps getting further away), so I grab my chance and whisper softly,

"Prowl…can you move yet?"

"Barely," he answers. Okay, so we can both speak again, that's good.

"Can you break free?"

"No," he answers, "Can you?" I struggle and free an arm from the bonds. I smile and reach over to him, and brush a hand against his arm.

"Yep." I retrieve a shuriken from him, and cut through his bonds, then my own. I get off my table, then help him up gently. He nearly falls to the floor, but I catch him just in time. We don't need Lockdown to hear us. I hold him in my arms, his arms around my neck for support, as I look around for a way out. I decide that the only exit I can find is the way we came in, and if Lockdown catches us, only I will be able to fight him off.

I have to take my chances, other wise we will be stuck here. He wants to hurt Prowl, and I refuse to let it happen. I hold him in my arms and make a run for it, carefully eluding every motion detector I can find. Once at the exit door, I realize an alarm might go off, but again, it's time to take chances.

I open the door, grab Prowl and jump out into the cold water. Prowl has a bit of a spasm, which tells me his body is returning to normal, but I hold him tighter. I kick my legs, trying to reach the surface, where I know we'll be safer. I send an alert to Ultra Magnus as I swim, hoping he'll dispatch a squad to come find us. I keep the alert going for as long as I can, and miraculously, we make it to the surface. I carry Prowl, still unable to move his legs, and run as fast and as hard as I can before I hear another faint splash behind us.

"Good luck!" I hear him yell, but it only makes me move faster. I continue to run, until Prowl says,

I can move my legs again. Set me down, we can transform and get to your base faster." I obey, drop him and we both transform, then speed off towards my ship. Behind us, we hear the roar of Lockdown's engine, furiously chasing after us. I continue to alert Magnus until he answers,

"Jazz? Where are you?"

"Send help! We're being chased by that bounty hunter! He found us! We're headed towards the ship—send help!"

Prowl and I continue to push farther, doing what we can to avoid being caught again, but beside me, Prowl is suddenly pulled to a stop. I transform and turn to face Lockdown once more, this time standing there triumphantly, dangling Prowl up by his leg. Fear strikes my spark like never before.

"Thought you could get away from me, now, did you?" sneers Lockdown, "I've got some news for you: no one ever gets away. I catch every one of my targets, boys. No one has ever escaped without me taking what I want from them." He throws Prowl up and catches him, pulling him close to his chest and looking down at him. Both of his arms are wrapped around him, holding Prowl tightly in place. Lockdown lifts up one hand to gently caress Prowl's cheek, who shudders and tries to break free.

"You already know what I want from you, cutie. So why fight me? It'll be easier to get this done without you being all resistant." He leans down and attempts to kiss my sweetheart, but I interfere just in time.

My kick sends Lockdown back a few feet, dragging Prowl with him as he crashes into the ground. I dash over and pull Prowl up and we start to run again. We're so close…so very close to the ship….

"Slagging bastard!"

I turn my head and yell as Lockdown leaps over and lands in front of me, grabbing my arms as soon as I'm within his reach. He flings me around and smashes me into a tree. I cry out and pieces of the tree explode around me. I'm down, and I can't get up this time. I can only move my head, and the action hurts terribly. My vision is blurred—I can barely see what's happening anymore.

"You fragger!" Prowl roars somewhere in front of me—or behind me, I have no idea anymore—and I hear a huge, denting clang somewhere. Lockdown's own cry fills the air as he crashes down near me. I can hear Prowl losing his mind, and I can hear Lockdown being viciously punished for hurting me.

"Stop!" Lockdown begs, "Please, stop! You're killing me!"

"I know that!" Prowl yells back, "That's the point!"

"P-Prowl…" I moan, trying to get his attention, "S-stop…he—he ain't worth it…." He refuses to listen, or perhaps he can't hear me. His anger has taken control of him. I start to black out, and I can't get him to stop beating the slag out of Lockdown before it's too late.

It's too late. I drift off and slip into unconsciousness. The last thing I hear is Lockdown's screams of agony.

* * *

The next update may not be for a few days, since i have to write it, so take your time! And thanks for all the adds and faves and reviews!

-Juana


	7. Confessions and Other Fun Stuff!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers.**

**New chapter! Woot! All right, so I might be delayed a bit with this fic, as well as with "Idol Worship", because I want to partake in a contest on livejournal. It's at community./tficcontest/ so if you want to check that out, go for it. I don't really do contests and such, but I want to see if I can be told what to write and do a good job with it. That said, here's the newest chapter.**

**-Juana**

**Chapter Seven: Confessions and Other Fun Stuff**

"Ugh…huwha…?"

My optics flicker back online as I move my head slightly, trying to shake the buzzing noise out and regain my senses. I feel as though my body has been broken into a million little shards and put back together clumsily. Each little movement I make sends sharp pain through my body, and it takes the best of my self-discipline to not cry out after each pang. I look around as best I can and note that I am in the medical bay of my Commander's ship; I have no recollection of how I got there.

Beside me lies Prowl, still unconscious and badly damaged. He has welding marks all over his arms, as well as a million scars, some still dripping with energon. We're both in some pretty bad shape, but I think he's worse off.

"Looks like one of 'em is back online," says someone behind me. I can't see who, but it sounds like Optimus Prime's medic, Ratchet. He comes around and places a hand on my chassis.

"Are you awake, Jazz? Can ya hear me?" I mumble something that even I can't make out, and he nods, as though he speaks fluent gibberish.

"Don't strain yerself, kid. You'll be fine. Prowl's okay too. Magnus will be here shortly to talk to you. He's been real worried, y'know. That bounty hunter business is some crazy slag. We've been tangled with 'im before. Not very fun, eh, Optimus?" I don't attempt a nod, although I would like to, and merely give a flicker of a smile as my response. Optimus Prime comes around to face me and asks if I'm all right. I give him my best smile, which is harder than it should be, and he smiles in return.

"Prowl is going to be fine. When Magnus gets back from his conference, he, Ratchet and I will tell you what happened. Prowl has been knocked out, but Ratchet predicts he'll be back online sometime this week. You two have been out for two days—two mega-cycles—already."

My optics widen—two mega-cycles? We've been off-line for two whole mega-cycles? How did that happen? I vividly remember dealing with Lockdown like it was a breem ago! Optimus can see the shock in my optics, and he says reassuringly,

"Don't worry, Jazz. Magnus will be here soon. Everything is fine, don't worry." I move to protest, but Ratchet places his hand on my chassis and says,

"Don't strain yerself, I said. Lie down and relax. That's an order, young 'bot." I sigh, exasperated and worried, but I obey. I'd rather not piss off the one responsible for keeping me and Prowl alive. So for the next three breems, we wait in silence. I'm rendered temporarily mute yet again, which is driving me bonkers, and I can only really stare at the wounds Prowl is sporting at the moment. They look extremely painful, but very clean. Ratchet must have done a pretty nice job with them.

After the third breem, more or less, Ultra Magnus enters the med bay and swiftly makes his way over to me.

"Jazz, thank Primus you're alive! We arrived almost too late, but we got him. There's no need to worry. Optimus, Ratchet, let's have our talk with Jazz, let him know what happened."

'Finally,' I think, but of course I say nothing. Magnus kneels beside me, waits for the others to gather 'round, then starts.

"After you sent us your alert, we got right to work. I alerted Optimus and his crew and we all raced down towards the lake. You were knocked out when we found you, and Prowl had nearly killed Lockdown, the bounty hunter."

"We needed Bulkhead to pull him off before he did, too," adds Ratchet, "otherwise the youngling would have actually killed Lockdown and caused all kinds of problems for us. We needed to interrogate that bastard, but he could barely speak after Prowl was through with him."

"Yes," says Magnus, "Once Prowl was off, Lockdown made a sad attempt to escape, trying to outrun us, but Bumblebee raced after him and knocked him down. They scuffled, and Bumblebee had an arm ripped off, but he's all right now. All patched up. Lockdown was apprehended by Optimus and Sentinel, and sedated by Ratchet. He's in the brig now, sedated every now and again and kept chained up. He's not going anywhere for a while."

I'm a little annoyed they all had to be here to tell me a fraction of a breems' worth of information, but whatever. I'm more concerned with the injuries Prowl has obtained, so I do my best to speak,

"Prowl…arm? Okay? Weld?" Ultra Magnus and Optimus both look at Ratchet, who rubs the back of his neck and says,

"That's not related to Lockdown, Jazz. That's something to ask him when he wakes up. For now, though, I've put him under. He sustained some head trauma during his fight with Lockdown, regardless of how one-sided it was. We'll talk about it later, since chances are you were gonna find out about it anyways. Right now, just be near him, and you'll both be fine."

And that is that. I'm close enough to him that I can reach out and brush my fingers against his hand, but in his medically induced comatose state, he doesn't react to my touch. I hold his fingers in mine and eventually, I fall into my own pattern of recharge. There is nothing left for me to do but recharge. Every once in a while, Ultra Magnus comes in to help me talk, an ability I regain after a mega-cycle or two, but that's about it.

After several mega-cycles of this, Prowl's fingers suddenly twitch in mine, and I alert Ratchet, who comes running over to check. Prowl's optics flicker on slowly. He turns to face look up at Ratchet, who smiles and says,

"Welcome home, ya crazy glitch."

"Ugh…where'm I?" His voice is scratchy and slow. He lifts a hand up to shield his optics from the artificial lights and turns his head to look at me.

"Jazz? Wha' happen?"

"Take it easy there, kid," says the medic, "just stay calm for now. You've been out for a few days after your little scuffle with Lockdown. He's locked away in the brig, you have nothin' to worry about. Although I gotta admit, you did quite a number on him. Now, just relax, I have to—"

"Sumdac!"

"Prowl, please. Just—"

"Sumdac! With Meg'tron…mines…." Ratchet looks over at me and says,

"What's he goin' on about? Did you two see Professor Sumdac?" I search my memory until it pops up. The little human waving to us in the background—that was someone they knew?!

"Yeah!" I exclaim, 'yeah, there was this little human waving to us, tryin' to get our attention. Who is he?"

"That," answers Ratchet, "is little Sari's creator, and the one who brought Megatron back to us. He's innocent, I swear it," he adds as I stare with a gaping mouth, "he was tricked by Megatron into helping him regain a body. Seems the big fragger himself kidnapped the guy. Prowl, hey, Prowl," he nudges Prowl a bit because it seems he's starting to nod off, "Where did you say you saw him?"

"His…under…ground…mines …Jazz?" I reach back over and grab his hand, squeezing gently.

"I'm here, sweetheart, don't you worry. We'll get that little human back. You okay?"

"Lockdown?"

"Locked up."

"Good." He leans his head back down and nearly passes out again, but Ratchet jolts him with a mild shock, earning a surprised cry from my darlin'.

"What's going on in there? Is he back online?" Optimus Prime's voice cuts through the air suddenly as he runs in, accompanied by Sentinel Prime and Ultra Magnus. Optimus kneels down next to Prowl and says,

"Hey you. Are you all right?"

"I know where Sumdac is." Well, he's speaking in complete sentences again, that's always a good sign. He recovers fast, evidently. Optimus leans in, interested.

"Where? Where is he?"

"The underground mines, apparently," answers Ratchet, cleaning some medical tool, "which means we'll have to ask Sari about them. Bumblebee knows them a bit too, but not very well. We'll have to treat this matter very delicately. We should look for—HEY! Get back on your berth, youngling!" Prowl suddenly sits up and jumps off his berth and starts to walk toward the exit.

"I have to see Lockdown," he says, but Optimus grabs his arm.

"We will talk to him. You need to stay right here, Prowl. You're not through healing just yet. Stay with Jazz, talk, just relax and listen to whatever Ratchet tells you. Don't get worked up over it. I'm glad you told me about it right away, I will deal with it, as will Ultra Magnus and Sentinel Prime."

"I have to go," protests Prowl, who leans forward again to get off the berth. He doubles over and clutches his right side, gasping in what seems to be searing pain. I carefully get off my own berth, much to the vexation of Ratchet, but I disregard it as I move over to Prowl and wrap my arms around him, comforting both of us, really. He tenses up, as I would expect, but he does not shove me off, nor does he protest being held in such a way in front of everyone.

After a few moments, he nods and says,

"Okay, Jazz. I'll stay, but only for you. Optimus, promise me you will tell me everything that happens, please. And do not let him out—I might kill him. Did he hurt Jazz?"

"I'm okay, baby," I answer with a squeeze, "and don't worry. These guys will take care of everything."

"I know," he answers. I let him go long enough so that he can climb back onto his berth, and then, I, like the crazy mech I am, jump right in with him, wrapping my arms around him and resting my chin in his shoulder. He leans into me and we sit there in silence, just happy to be together (and alive) again.

Sentinel cocks an eye ridge at us, most definitely surprised by the affection we're giving one another, shakes his head and says,

"All right, let's go to this…organic in need." Magnus replies,

"Yes. We'll need to question Lockdown again, and get any information we can. I'll send a team down to his ship to confiscate any vital information we could use. Let's move, boys." He walks out of the room, followed by Optimus, who waves goodbye to us, and Sentinel, who shoots us a dirty look. He obviously doesn't approve of our relationship, but I don't give a frag. Besides, I can take Sentinel on any time I want. He's no match for me, despite his size. He can be slow and arrogant, giving me the edge.

I let it go. I'm more focused on hugging my sweetheart.

"What did that fragger do to your arms, anyway?" I ask suddenly as my fingers dance over the wounds, "He use a welder or somethin'? Oh, wait…they said he didn't do that…well, then who did?" Prowl suddenly tenses up, as does the medic across from us, cleaning yet another tool. They both avoid optic contact, and I think I may have hit a nerve somewhere.

The medic, after a few quiet, tense moments, looks up and says, "He was askin' before, Prowl. I didn't tell him—it's not my place. You might as well tell him." Prowl shudders in my arms and answers,

"No. It's not important."

"Yes, it is," I say. "I'm curious. You might as well."

"You're going to hate me."

"Dammit, Prowl, he's not goin' to hate you fer somethin' ya did as an adolescent 'bot. We've all done things in our youngling period that we regret as adults."

"Prowl?" I ask with sudden concern lacing my vocals, "what happened? Did you hurt yourself on purpose?" His sigh tells me he did just that, and I can only squeeze him tighter.

"Please tell me," I half-beg, "I want to know why. Do you still—"

"NO. No. Jazz, I—" He stops as he turns his head to look at me. I retract my visor so that he can see the sadness in my optics. He resigns himself to me and says slowly,

"Very well. You must first promise you will tell no one, not the younglings, not the humans, no one. Not our friends, not our enemies, not even people you think you can trust with your life. No one else is allowed to know. The only reason Ratchet knows is because he's the medic, and the only reason Optimus knows is because he's my boss. That's it. Is that understood, Jazz?"

"I understand, sweetheart. You can trust me." Then, hesitation. Reluctance. He waits, I wait. He opens his mouth to speak, then shuts it, as though he really can't decide if he should say it or not. It takes him a breem to start the story, but once he starts, he doesn't stop.

"Like I told you before, I grew up in the village of Su. My only caretaker had been killed in a Decepticon suicide bombing there, and so the Master took me in. He did not adopt me, he merely allowed me to stay and train in the art of Circuit-Su. I became obsessed with it and the idea of being perfect, and I got sick because of it. I trained under Master Wildburner—"

"I remember him," I interrupt before letting him go on.

"He was a great mech," Prowl adds, casting his gaze upwards at the ceiling, "he was like a creator to me. My creator was dead, and my caretaker, my godfather, was dead. And Wildburner was alive. I guess I just latched onto him as some sort of adult influence in my life, but first I started to hurt myself. I began to slice myself with a shuriken I stole from him as a youngling when the pressure I placed on myself to be perfect began to stress me out, but it didn't last as long as it might have if he hadn't interfered. It was only a few days, thank Primus. It was unbearable, the feelings I held inside."

"You cut yourself?" I ask, somewhat taken aback—I hadn't seen any scars until a few mega-cycles ago, but before I can ask, he continues.

"Master Wildburner acted like a creator to me, and I loved it. I was getting attention from him, I was being hugged, and he would listen to me if I ever needed to talk things out. I hadn't had that before, so of course you can understand how I would do anything I could for more attention. Well, one night, I went a little too far. He was very busy during that time, focusing on paperwork, training, teaching several classes per mega-cycle, getting very little recharge and dealing with some other matters being brought to him from the city. He was stressed, and he didn't have time to spend with me. I hated it. Before I would have been able to handle being alone all the time, but after getting so much attention, I wasn't able to handle it."

He pauses for a moment, signaling the next part is going to be somewhat of a doozy. I squeeze him again, to tell him it's okay, that I won't judge him, so he continues on in a less-than-willing manner.

"So, one night, I tried to find some way to get his attention again. Remember, I was a youngling—I was too stupid and too selfish to find some other way to do it—so I stole a welder from a local shop and turned it up enough that it burned these ugly marks into my arms. He nearly had a spark attack when he saw what I did and wouldn't leave my side for twenty-seven mega-cycles until the medic he called in from New Iacon showed up. That's how I met Ratchet."

"Yep," answers the old medical 'bot, "I was called in, gave the kid a thorough examination and found the root of the behavior almost instantly."

"Wildburner was extremely upset and angry with me," Prowl continues, "He even yelled at me. I was so ashamed of myself that I used the welder again, but this time I kept it well hidden so he wouldn't know."

"And he never did," adds Ratchet, "he was killed in an accident while taking a trip to the city of New Iacon."

"Yes," sighs Prowl sadly, "I was so angry at that point. I wasn't ready to lose him. No one was. After word of his permanent deactivation reached Su, I just reverted back to hurting myself on a daily basis until Ratchet here took all my weapons away and dragged me to New Iacon with him. I never finished my training in Su, that's why I'm not as good as you, Jazz. Instead, I worked for Ratchet in his med bay until I was old enough to be on my own, but I stayed with him. We were assigned to work on the repair ship under Optimus Prime's command."

"So, wait" I cut in, "if you had all these scars and marks, why didn't I see them before?"

"Over-armor," Prowl says simply, "It's molded to my body so that it looks like it's actually my body, but it's just thin sheets of metal painted my color. No one has ever noticed. It doesn't get in my way, or hinder my performance while fighting. I can't believe they let you see me without it—I'm so ugly without it."

There is yet another tense silence in the room as I hold Prowl in my arms. No anger courses through me, but fear does. My arms tighten even more around him—if he were human, he would be 'suffocating' by now. I feel his anger at himself rising, and there's a sudden jolt in his system. Ratchet feels it too, because he stands up, walks over to us, kneels down and looks Prowl straight in the optic:

"NO. Relax. Remember what you learned from meditation. Don't even think about starting again. Talk to Jazz, you know he wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

"I know, I know," said Prowl, pushing the medic away gently, "I just hate to think about it. Listen, I need to speak with Lockdown. Jazz, did he take anything from you?"

"No," I answer, "but I don't want you to go talk to him. Not yet. Let the others go first. You nearly deactivated him, you know."

"Oh?" says Prowl with a sarcastic tone in his vocals, "I 'nearly' deactivated him? My goal was to permanently deactivate him, not 'nearly' deactivate him. I think you can see why I need to go see him."

"Oh, no, baby. You're not doin' him in. Just chill out, okay? You know, you scared me that night. I saw somethin' in you, somethin' wicked, angry and scared. You were wild when you went after him."

"He was going to rape me, and he nearly off-lined you for good. I had a pretty good reason to defend us the way I did, Jazz."

"Perhaps," I agree, "but violence just isn't the answer. You know that, baby." He sighs again, and this time it starts to bug me. I look down at the berth we're on, noting it's large enough to hold us both if lay down, with room to spare. I shift my legs and pull him down with me so that we're laying face-to-face on our sides. He seems rather surprised, so I giggle and pull him into me, where I press my lips against his neck. He gasps and throws his arms around me, clearly enjoying the very sudden change of topic. Ratchet shakes his head, wearing a little grin and returns to cleaning his tools.

I start to babble like a sparkling to Prowl, to see what kind of reaction I'll get from him. He chuckles, then says,

"What in Primus' name are you saying? You're so strange, Jazz. You really are."

"I'm not strange!" I protest, "I'm in love! Is that so bad?"

"Not at all, _darlin'_."

"Are you makin' fun o' me?"

"Oh, no," he says as innocently as he can, "of course not! Wherever did you get such an idea, _baby_?" Oh, he's a cute one, all right. I lightly smack his head and whisper,

"I'm gonna bite you if you keep doin' that, sweetheart. I promise."

"Okay, Jazzy." Oh, he's just asking for it now. I hug him the tightest I've ever hugged him and laugh before kissing his neck and cheeks. Seems I've been teaching him a few things about being in love. He giggles and rubs the back of my neck, earning a purr of approval from me. I give him a light bite on the shoulder, and he nearly recoils, but quickly figures out that it wasn't meant to hurt.

"What do you call that? A love bite?"

"Yeah. You like it?"

"Mmmm….very much so. May I bite you?"

"Go for it, sweetheart." Prowl leans in closer to me and very gently, ever so lightly clamps his teeth on my shoulder, but I barely feel it. He's obviously afraid he'll hurt me, so I say,

"Harder, darlin'. Don't be afraid. You aren't going to hurt me." He obeys, and bites harder, maybe a little too hard. I hold in my yelp and say instead,

"Okay, maybe that was a little too hard. Here, like this:" I demonstrate the bite again, applying even, gentle pressure without causing pain, and he emulates the action. It takes a few tries, but eventually he gets it. We continue until Ratchet steps in to interfere.

"All right, you two, break it up. As wonderful as it is that you're in love, you're kliks away from interfacing right here, and I don't wanna be witness t' that. You need to avoid exerting yerselves anyways. Jazz, get back on your berth and get some rest. Prowl, I wanna examine that side of yours. Turn over…yes, let me see your right side, good…Jazz, get back on your berth!"

Yeah, I'm a stubborn aft-head, and I refuse to remove myself from my darlin'. Prowl is obeying the medic, which is a good thing, but I'd rather be with him.

"Ratchet, I promise I won't do anything. I just don't want to let him go. Please?"

"Get over to your own berth, or so help me I will knock you both out."

"Aw, doc," I protest, "come on! Don't be that way, just let me stay. I promise we won't interface. Besides, Prowl's too inexperienced for that just yet." The doc-bot glares at me, and I'm afraid I may have pissed him off with all my sparkling-like begging, but finally, he sighs and says evenly,

"If you promise to not get in my way and let me do my job, you can stay right here. But the moment I decide you're being a total nuisance, I'm kicking you off this berth and back onto your own. Got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Don't call me 'sir'," he mumbles, barely audibly, but I ignore it, having no idea what it could possibly mean. He just sets straight to work, checking out an injury in Prowl's right side, and even going as far as slightly operating on it for a few breems. Ratchet's good: quite possibly one of the best medical 'bots I've ever watched in action. I'm impressed by his abilities.

I snuggle against Prowl, humming softly into his audios as Ratchet works, easing his tensed up body and earning a small hum in return. He's so innocent, so beautiful…it's hard to believe he nearly killed Lockdown a few days ago. I find myself falling deeper and deeper in love with him every time I look at him.

And despite what he says about his self-inflicted injuries, I still think, and will continue to think, that he is the most beautiful mech I've ever known.

Revieweth, please.

-Juana

PS. STAY SAFE.


	8. No Good

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers.**

**Ah…finally back on this story. I took a bit of a break, as you may have noticed, and wrote some short fics. Little one-shots that I'm pretty pleased with. I think a lot about random things, my attention can't be held fro too long on one thing, and those fics are proof of that. But here I am, ready to give everyone a new chapter.**

**See you soon!**

**Chapter Eight: No Good**

Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime return together, each wearing grim faces.

"Sir?" I ask as I look up. I move gently so I don't disturb Prowl—he's fallen into recharge in my arms after his small operation. Ultra Magnus shakes his head sullenly and says,

"Lockdown does not know where the Decepticons are located. He says he simply receives their untraceable transmissions, gets a job or two, and receives his payment in various, untraceable pre-decided areas chosen by Megatron, delivered by individual Decepticons. He doesn't know where these underground mines are, or which ones they're residing in at the moment. For all we know, they move around every so often. We're still waiting on my men to come back from his ship, but if what he says is true, then all we will find are some scrambled messages that can't be traced to anywhere."

"In other words," says Optimus, "we're clueless. Whatever the Decepticons are planning down there, they've taken all the right precautions."

"Where's Sentinel?" I ask, not really caring.

"I sent him off to lead the team searching Lockdown's ship. Hopefully they'll find something helpful."

"Doubt it," I reply, "Much as I hate to say it, but from what I experienced personally, and heard from you guys, Lockdown is one damn good evil guy. He'll probably have alarms and verification traps all over the place. Hopefully Sentinel and his men will be okay down there."

"They'll be fine," says Magnus, "Sentinel is more than capable of handling a mission like this. Jazz, how are you feeling? Is everything working all right here?"

"We're both fully functional," I answer, glancing down at my off-line love, "I want to get back to work. I want to find the Decepticons and maybe get a few punches in Lockdown's chassis."

"Absolutely not, Jazz," Ultra Magnus snaps, "You will do no such thing."

"He was going to forcefully interface with Prowl, sir," I explain, "I'm not letting him get away with it."

"He did not get the chance to do it; therefore, he is not guilty of the actual crime. He is being held as a prisoner for his treacherous deeds against Autobots in both the Great War and in the present conflicts. That is all. You will not harm him for making threats."

"But—!"

"Jazz, I'd rather not have to place you in the brig for your behavior, especially not after recovering in the medical facility for several days. Prowl would not be happy about it, either. I suggest you shut your mouth and do your job. Is that understood?" I glare at him, something I've never done before as I get ready to return his words with a retort of my own, but Prowl shifts in his sleep and his arms tighten around my waist. His sharp fingers twitch against my back, and I decide to shut it. I don't want to go back to the brig. I can't stand being separated from him for too long.

Ultra Magnus knows I was prepared to fire words back at him, but he merely nods as he glances down at Prowl with understanding. The look on his face tells me that if I'm going to protect my darlin', I'm going to need to be there for him. Being in the brig would not be ideal for anyone, anyways.

Optimus Prime stands by awkwardly, watching us exchange words and it's clear he feels uncomfortable. Unbeknownst to him, Magnus and I do this on occasion, and while we'd rather not, our personalities clash greatly. I respect him, I really do, but sometimes he just follows the Elite Guard Guidelines too well. I mean, all I want to do is beat the living slag out of Lockdown.

"Um, Commander? Perhaps Jazz is right…maybe we should call Sentinel and his team back. Lockdown's ship is a deathtrap for anyone who doesn't know what they're doing."

"I plan on sending a transmission to him soon, Optimus. In the meantime, go check on the rest of your crew—men. A good leader keeps an optic on all his men. I wish to have a private word with Jazz, anyway. Go on. You too, Ratchet. I'll let you know when you can come back in. Thank you for all your help." Ratchet nods, then leaves with his leader.

The first word that comes to me is 'scrap' as I watch them leave the room swiftly. Once the door to the med bay slams shut, Ultra Magnus turns his full attention to me. I wait for the ultimate verbal lashing, but it never comes. Instead, he kneels down so that he's almost at optic level with me.

"Jazz, the two of us have our differences. I don't blame you. But listen to me. You need to be there for this new lover of yours. He may be able to handle himself, but he needs you, I can see it. I know how it feels to lose the one I love. I was young, your age actually, when I lost my bond mate. I was in the brig myself for insubordinate behavior when he was killed in a battle. I couldn't be there to protect him, or to save him. I don't want that to happen to you and Prowl. Can you understand why I'm being so tough on you?"

I stare at my Commander, almost shocked that I'm not being torn apart by his words. I had never known that this old mech had been in love at one point, or that he had lost his love so early in his function. I watch him, noticing for the first time just how worn and old he is—I see grief coded in his features. He's so lonely, and I had never seen it before. He was a hard-aft because of his own mistakes.

Ultra Magnus refused to let me make those same mistakes. He turns his head to gaze at my sleeping love and a smile tugs at the corners of his lips.

"Protect him, Jazz. Don't make a mistake that could lead to worse ramifications. We're dealing with Decepticons; you don't want to be in the brig if they strike."

"No, sir," I answer, bowing my head a little shamefully, "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to –"

"All I need is your promise, Jazz. Promise me you will think about the possible consequences of your actions and words before you do or say them. Don't let your young instincts of today haunt you for the rest of your function. You don't deserve to suffer, and neither does your loved one." He stands back up to his full height, nods his head and leaves the room. I sit in silence for a few moments, stunned, angry at myself and stroking Prowl's arm before Ratchet returns to continue cleaning his tools. He glances my way and says,

"Magnus tells me you're a bit of a rebel. Don't follow orders as often as you should." I don't look at him, and I resist the urge to snap that it isn't any of his fraggin' business. He has been good to me, and I don't want to anger him.

"Jazz," he continues, "don't frag things up for yourself. Someday, you may find yourself separated from Prowl, and it's going to break your spark. Trust me on this."

"And I suppose you've been separated from your lover?"

"Yep. It's been way over fifty solar-cycles, actually. I miss him a lot, I won't deny it."

"Anyone I know?"

"Did you know ever Ironhide?" Oh damn. The doc 'bot was the lover of the famed Ironhide? Lucky fragger. I nod in disbelief and earn a chuckle from Ratchet.

"Yeah. I love the guy, but I haven't seen him for far too long. Trust me, you don't want to lose a moment with Prowl if you can help it. He can be arrogant and stubborn, as you'll learn eventually, but he's got a good spark. He likes you. A lot. In fact, none of us have ever seen him this social before. Ya' did somethin' to him that helped him come out of his shell. Don't know what, but thanks. I was concerned about him for a while, y'know."

I continue to stroke Prowl's arm, smiling down at him as he recharges quietly. He's so beautiful, I can hardly believe it. How could someone so wonderful and beautiful ever want to hurt himself? Ratchet seems to read my mind:

"He didn't get much physical contact as a sparkling. His creator died after he was sparked, and his godfather died shortly after he was adopted. Ironhide wanted to adopt him after our friend died, but I had to be the voice of reason. We were too old to care for a sparkling, and we were too war-worn. We didn't know the first thing about caring for a sparkling; our sparks were too hard and angry for that. So Prowl grew up in Su, learning the art and, unfortunately, drew away from social events. He had no friends. It was depressing the first time I met him in his youngling years. He was a cute sparkling, though. He had this habit of chewing on his digits and looking around with wide optics."

My smile grows bigger as I listen. Maybe I can get Prowl to show me his optics at some point. He seems to like keeping them hidden. I decide to wonder out loud.

"I wonder why you hide those optics of yours," I murmur, hoping to catch Ratchet's attention. He chuckles and answers,

:Oh, that. There's nothing wrong with them visually. When his shell was built, the builder neglected to make the optic holes larger. It was a mistake, really, and when it was time to spark the little guy, it was too late to fix it. Apparently during his education in Su, a lot of the students there called him 'Squinty', since it looks like he's always squinting. He hated it, so he made a few of those visors to hide them. He'll only let you see them when he feels he can trust you enough to not call him names."

"Ah," I say, "well, there's nothing wrong with that, then. I hope I get to see them soon."

"You probably will," answers Ratchet, "I've never seen him get so attached to anyone before." As though he had heard the medic, Prowl suddenly shifts and presses his chassis to my leg. It's awkward because I'm sitting up, but it's just so cute. I reach down and pet his head as he tightens his grip around my waist. He mutters something in his sleep, and I lean down to hear it.

"What's that, Prowl?" I ask with a giggle. He answers,

"Jazz's m' boyfriend. You can't touch…." He snores and nuzzles his forehead against my thigh. Ratchet snorts with a repressed laugh and says,

"I think he may be the jealous type. I didn't know he talked in his sleep." At this point, I can't say anything. Prowl is just too cute for words. How someone so serious and so anti-social managed to work his way into my spark, I'll never know. Ratchet finishes cleaning his tools and gets up.

"Jazz, get some rest, all right? It's been my experience as an old coot that a mech should take every chance he has to cuddle with his mate before it becomes too late. Y' never know what'll happen." I nod and watch him leave the med bay, probably to go recharge or check on the rest of his team. I take his advice and ease my way back down and wrap my arms protectively around Prowl's unbelievably small body. He moves closer against me and holds me in return, and he's not even aware of it.

He spent so much of his time taking care of himself and never allowing anyone else in that it doesn't surprise me he's opening up to my protective nature. I won't allow anyone to hurt him, especially that fragger, Lockdown. This must be the first time since he lost Master Wildburner that he's ever been given such close attention. It's clear he loves it, and I have no problem with giving it.

* * *

My optics go online as a gentle hand brushes against my cheek plate. I turn my head to look at Prowl, who has finally woken up from his long recharge. He gazes at me with a sweet, little smile, then presses his lips against my cheek.

"Good morning," he says softly, nuzzling against me again. I turn over and grab him in my arms and press my own lips against his neck for a kiss. He gasps, causing me to hug him tighter and continue kissing his neck until he can't take it. He jumps on top of me and pins me arms down and kisses my face, avoiding my lips as he's been doing, and just before I think we're going to interface right here, right now, Ratchet walks in.

The world seems to stop forever as he stares at us and we stare at him, all of us a little embarrassed by the circumstances. He shakes his head, sending the world back into it natural speed and Prowl climbs off of me.

"Um…Sorry, Ratchet," he mumbles, "I, uh…got excited?"

"You're tellin' me," I laugh, "We'll just have to try again, hmm, darlin'?" Ratchet chuckles and mutters,

"Kids and their racing circuits…don't rush it you two. Take it slow; really take the time to cherish each other. You'll be glad you did."

"Sure thing, Doc," I say playfully before throwing my arms up and catching them around Prowl, pulling him for one more kiss before Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime walk in.

"I see you're both back online," says Magnus without hesitating, "Excellent. I hope you two are up for a mission." Optimus' mouth has dropped, but he doesn't say anything.

"Yes, sir," we answer Magnus together, quickly jumping off each other and the berth to stand up straight and salute him. He nods, then continues.

"We seem to have lost contact with Sentinel Prime and his team. I want you two, Optimus Prime and his men to go and see if you can find them. Contact me every breem. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir, Commander," I nod, "Optimus? Tell us when, sir." The young leader shakes his head and stutters,

"Oh, uh, right. Yeah. Uh…Transform and roll out. Bumblebee, Ratchet, Bulkhead, let's move!" He transforms and we follow him out of the med bay, through the halls, meeting up with his team and steering ourselves out into the open streets of Detroit.

It was a dark day. Prowl explains how clouds function in the sky, and that rain on Earth is harmless, unlike the acidic rain back on Cybertron. It is evident he enjoys this planet's natural way of existing. We drive back through the park, which is empty this time. Prowl tells me that humans like to stay indoors during wet, cold weather, and that it is also safer to do so. Nature produces electricity, which could kill humans if it touches them. I listen intently, fascinated by this new information.

In front of us, Optimus Prime gives his orders. Bumblebee and four of my men are to stand guard outside, while he, Ratchet, Bulkhead, Prowl, three of my men and me go in and search for Sentinel Prime and his crew. When we arrive at the lake's edge, we transform, wish each other luck, and then jump into the cold water, unsure of what we're walking into.

My three men, Blaster, Thunderwind and Toughjaw follow us in the rear, their guns ready to fire at anything that poses a threat. Optimus Prime and Bulkhead lead the way, while Ratchet, Prowl and I walk in the middle, keeping our optics open for any sudden moves. So far, there is nothing in the water that could potentially harm us, but that doesn't mean we let our guard down. We move through the water, staying quiet and alert.

Below us, Lockdown's ship waits, and Prowl mutters something about pirate ships lost at sea during some period in human history. They were filled with treasure, he says, and Optimus nods grimly.

"Lockdown is crazy," the young leader says as he cuts through the water, "he likes to take 'trophies' from his victims. If you have something useful, he'll rip it out of your body and install it and format it for his own body. It's disgusting. He is very much like a human pirate, kidnapping, torturing and stealing from his victims."

"You were a victim of his, right?" I ask, forgetting to be sensitive about it. He nods and answers,

"Yeah. It's not a nice memory, being surrounded by the parts of Cybertronians I've never met. Maybe you recall, but the place smells like death, suffering…I remember the stench of old oil and energon on the floors, the berth I was strapped to, even the walls were drenched in the scent. It was everywhere despite how clean it looked."

"I remember it too," says Ratchet at my right, "Lockdown is a twisted bundle of fried wires. It makes perfect sense that he went after you and Jazz, Prowl. Both highly trained Cyberninjas, one an Elite Guard. Lockdown has probably seen your holographic trick too, Prowl. I'm surprised he didn't take it, or your weapons."

"He was going to viol—" I start, but Optimus Prime cuts me off.

"We're here."

* * *

I saw 'Iron Man'. Go see this movie, please.


	9. Bargain

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers.**

**If you dislike it, don't read it. You don't have to be a genius to figure that out. It's a fan fic, not the theory of evolution. There's no need to go and analyze it and pick it apart. **

**I gave Lockdown a bit of a history, but I don't plan on continuing with it. I just wanted some kind of rant from him. I love his character a lot.**

**That said, enjoy! **

**-Juana**

**Chapter Nine: Bargain**

Lockdown's ship is as massive as I remember it, considering I was here only a few days ago. But it seems bigger now. Perhaps the temporary paralysis caused my optics to see it less so. Either way, we're here, we're staring at it, and we cannot believe just how huge the ship really is. Optimus Prime swims down to it, quickly locates an airlock and hacks his way in using a code acquired from Lockdown, apparently—I suddenly realize I have no idea how Magnus got information from the bounty hunter, and although torture seems unlikely…well, one never knows.

We enter the ship and close the door, draining away the excess water before we start our search for Sentinel and his band. Ratchet and Optimus take the front; Bulkhead whispers to me,

"I guess since both of them have been kidnapped and stolen from here, they know their way around. Kinda." I make a sound to acknowledge I've heard him, but after that, we all remain silent. My men are very alert, on their toes. They have never actually dealt with a Decepticon, or any other kind of anti-Autobot mech before, just like Sentinel, so of course it's only natural that they would be so paranoid about being attacked.

Somewhere down the hall, we hear a crash and profanity following it. We move slowly, although we're all pretty sure it's Sentinel and his men. But then again, Lockdown's ship is huge—what if he had hired help on board that we never saw?

Bulkhead steps forward and pushes his leader and Ratchet out the way before moving headfirst into the room we heard the crash come from. Optimus and Prowl protest, but the huge 'bot ignores them.

"HEY!" I hear Sentinel yell suddenly, "WHAT ARE YOU REPAIR BOTS DOING HERE!?" I sigh, and we all enter the room. Sentinel is standing there, and I see his reason for screaming at Bulkhead instantly: he's somehow managed to place himself into stasis lock and he's lying on the floor, wearing the most humiliated, angry face I've seen in a while. I stifle a laugh, then kneel down beside him and prepare to remove some little object from his hands, but Ratchet quickly lifts the object—a small statue, it looks like—with his magnetic powers and examines it before I can touch it.

"Lockdown seems to have infused stasis lock technology with this thing," he states, "Any idiot could touch it and be locked."

"Are you calling me an idiot, old 'bot?" Sentinel growls as I help him to his feet, "Because if you are—"

"That's enough, Sentinel," Optimus Prime snaps, "Don't you dare go threatening my men. Now, where is the rest of your crew? I think everyone wants to get out of this Pit-hole as soon as possible." Sentinel glares at him and answers in a low growl,

"I don't know. They got separated from me and locked in another room. I came here to find some way to open the door when I picked up that statue to reach the keypad it was in front of. You, big guy," he points to Bulkhead, "bring your oversized aft over here. Follow me." Bulkhead's shoulders droop just a tiny bit before he moves to go help him, but Prowl grabs his arm.

"No," he says, "You're not helping him until he asks you politely. Sentinel, I will not tolerate you speaking to my friend and teammate so disrespectfully."

"Hey," snaps Sentinel, "Don't tell me what to do or say. I give the orders here, not you, you tiny little—" Now it's my turn to get angry.

"Sentinel," I shout to my colleague, "shut it. You won't talk to anyone like that anymore. I will be reporting your insubordinate attitude and behavior to Ultra Magnus. Now, ask again, and this time, be a gentlebot about it." Sentinel rolls his optics and grumbles an apology reluctantly, then asks for Bulkhead's assistance again. Bulkhead smiles and nods in agreement; he looks really happy that he's being respected.

We follow Sentinel to another room, where the cries of mechs calling for help gets louder the closer we get. The walls are thick, we realize: we couldn't have heard them otherwise. Ratchet starts to pry the doors open with his magnetic powers, and Bulkhead does the rest of the job by forcefully ripping them open. Optimus Prime doesn't even have to give the orders—they work as a team so well that everything is already pre-determined. I'm impressed; I'll have to tell him that later. Right now, we have a job to do.

Prowl and I enter the room and check to make sure all of Sentinel's men are all right. No one is hurt, thankfully, and we get ready to leave when Sentinel, Optimus and my comm. link beep urgently.

"What's up, Commander?" I ask quickly, not wanting to waste any time. Magnus answers,

"It's Lockdown—he's escaped. We have reason to believe he's going to go back to the ship. Get out of there, all of you, and apprehend him outside. He's unbelievably fast, men. Bring him back in one piece, is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," we all say simultaneously. We disconnect the link and run for the exit as a group; our feet slam as one against the cold floor. We all leave the ship and make our way to the surface, praying to Primus that we're not too late. How fast is unbelievably fast for this guy? I have no idea, in all honesty, and I think I'd recharge better not knowing. Optimus is swimming the fastest—it's obvious he wants to get to the surface before Lockdown reaches Bumblebee and my men, and it's understandable. So I kick my legs harder, faster, pushing myself to the limit to make sure he has backup.

We all break the surface of the placid water and leap onto the water bank and find that Bumblebee and my men are unharmed. The looks on their faces suggest Magnus has already reached them and warned them as well, so now all we can do is wait. Sentinel looks terrified, and part of me wants to laugh at his fear, but this is not the right time for that kind of behavior.

"Jazz, Prowl," orders Optimus quickly, "go into the trees and keep a lookout for Lockdown. Let us know the instant you see him. Bulkhead, go hide behind those rocks—" he points to a pile of boulders and shrubs, "and stay there. I want you to catch him by surprise. You're the strongest, and he'll probably go after you first to get you out of the way."

"Sure thing, boss-bot," Bulkhead answers before he lumbers off to hide himself.

"Bumblebee, Ratchet, stay with me. jazz, before you go, what do you want your men to do?"

"Boys," I say, "go move up front a bit and hide yourselves. The moment you see him, shoot him with your stun guns. Don't kill him, for the love of Primus. Sentinel, go with them." Sentinel, I can see, is beyond terror now, and he merely nods and follows my men without a fight. I look at Prowl, who nods and leaps off into a tree. I follow after him, and we creep through the branches to keep an optic out for Lockdown.

And then we wait. A breem goes by, then another. Breems pile upon breems and create mega-cycles. The day is almost out, and there is still no sign of Lockdown. I was sitting on a branch, bored out of my processor, but Prowl remains still on his branch, watching, waiting patiently.

"Prowl," I call quietly, "come on over here. He's not coming."

"No," he says without a single movement, "He's smart, Jazz. He's waiting, just like us, for the right moment. We must—HEY!" My arms close around his shoulders as I pull him down into a sitting position against me. He struggles and growls,

"Jazz, please. We need to keep a watch for him. He could be feet away, watching us right now. He could be waiting for us to get distracted by each other!"

"He would have done that by now, don't you think?" I ask cutely, but I let him go nonetheless. He has a point, and I'd rather not be the one who had to mess everything up. I'll leave that to Sentinel. Then the voice of reason comm. links to us all:

"Hey, did anyone think that maybe Lockdown knew we were here, and just went to his ship at the other side of the lake?"

There's a brief silence, and then,

"Damn it, Bumblebee! Why didn't you tell us this before?"

"I just thought it, Doc-bot! Don't yell at me!"

"Mute it, both of you," cuts in Optimus Prime's voice, "Bumblebee, good thinking. Sentinel, stay here with your men. Jazz, Prowl, Bulkhead, Ratchet, Bumblebee, let's go. We're gonna check the ship again. Chances are he's back there."

"WHAT!?" yells Sentinel through the connection, nearly shattering my audio receptors, "ARE YOU FRAGGING ME? ARE YOU ALL CPU DAMAGED!?"

"Shut it, Sentinel," I yell back, "and do what you're told. Call Magnus and tell him the plan and ask for backup. We're going to need it if Lockdown's been fixing himself up down there." I can hear Sentinel growling at me angrily through the connection, but I don't care. All I want to do is apprehend this crazy bounty hunter and go back to the ship. Prowl and I leap down from the tree and meet with Optimus and his crew before taking off back into the icy water.

Once again, that damn ship looms below us ominously, waiting to claim us in some way. Part of me doesn't want to do this. I'd rather go back to the ship, recharge with Prowl and maybe terrorize Sentinel a bit, but this has to be done. I think I can speak for us all when I say that I want Lockdown back behind bars and sedated.

And then, it's like we trip an invisible alarm outside the vessel, because the ship makes an eerie, settling sound. Long, intertwined stretches of cables shoot out from the ship and grab at us, our legs, our arms, our weapons.

"DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS!?" I scream at Optimus. He yells back,

"NO!" We all struggle against the cables, obviously making the situation worse for us, and we struggle even more when the cables start to pull us into the ship.

"Scrap…." I mutter to myself, "This can't be good."

Once inside the ship, the cables release us by dropping us into a cell, one on top on another. I land on top of Bulkhead, who, thankfully, is the first to land on the floor. Ratchet's head smacks into mine, followed by Prowl, Optimus and finally, Bumblebee. We all climb off of each other, rubbing our heads, our legs and arms, groaning in mild pain and waiting for it to subside.

"So nice of you all to visit me," says a smooth, suave voice on the other side of the cell, "I really do love company."

"Lockdown," Optimus says as he shakily gets to his feet, "let us out of here." Lockdown laughs, a sparkless, cold sound that echoes harshly through the dark, chilly cell and says,

"Not a chance, dear boy. No, I think I'll be keeping you all. I haven't had a decent job in a while, and Megatron will pay me handsomely for you, the Guard and all your little henchmen. I've been lonely, too. I need some 'company', if you catch my drift."

"Don't you dare," I growl as I step protectively in front of Prowl, "If you touch any one of us for your sick pleasure, I will rip you apart." I make my most threatening face at him, but he merely laughs again.

"Do you think I could take you seriously, Elite Guard? I can't even see your optics. Now, then, seeing as I am rather bored, and in need of a massage, who should I take?" His optics skim over us before settling not on me or Prowl as I expected he would have, but on Bumblebee. Optimus pushes the little scout behind him protectively and hisses,

"You won't touch him." Lockdown raises an optic ridge, then presses a button on the other side of the cell. An electrical surge runs through the floor, shocking our feet and knocking us all down, paralyzed only for a moment. He opens the cell door, grabs Bumblebee's wrist and pulls him out of the cell.

"NO!" Optimus screams as he attempts to regain some control over his momentarily non-functioning body, "NO! DON'T DO THIS!" Bumblebee starts to struggle in Lockdown's arms after a moment of paralysis, and begins to cry out for Optimus. It looks to me like their relationship is very father/son, because Optimus starts to plead with Lockdown to not hurt his little soldier. Lockdown only laughs again and starts to drag the yelling little 'bot away to Primus-knows-where.

The paralysis wears off fairly quickly, and very soon, Bulkhead is able to move again. With an angry roar, he slams his wrecking ball through the laser-wire door and busts all of us out of the cell. Optimus is the first out, chasing after Lockdown, clearly determined to rescue Bumblebee before he's harmed in any way.

A little ways down the hall, Lockdown can hear our feet pounding against the floor, and turns to face us with surprise in his optics, and he wastes no time in pulling a gun out of his subspace and jamming against Bumblebee's head. He holds the small Autobot tightly against him and growls in a low, threatening voice,

"Come any closer and I will blast his little head off." Bumblebee whimpers in his arms, and looks at Optimus with huge, scared optics. He's terrified, and Optimus is trying hard to get Lockdown to release him.

"What do you want, Lockdown?" he asks slowly, "Tell me. Anything you want. Please, just don't hurt Bumblebee." Lockdown laughs again, then answers,

"What do I want? WHAT DO I WANT?! I want to get paid for capturing you idiots. I want to go home. I want to see my fragging family! But you Autobots make life so fragging hard for anyone that hasn't pledged their sparks to the Autobot cause! Because of you, I can't return home, I can't see or even talk to my family; I can't make a decent living! I did what I had to during the Great War to ensure my spark-mate and our two sparklings had energon and a home. I would have gladly changed my ways after the War. But no. You pit-slagged Autobots had to hold a grudge and banish me from Cybertron!"

"That's yer own damn fault!" yells the angry medic, "Ya didn't HAVE to kidnap people and take them to Megatron! If it weren't for you, Arcee would still have her memory!"

"If you hadn't tried to be such a hero, she WOULD have her memory! Of course I was going to try to stop you from erasing her memory! No info means no energon, and no energon means my family goes hungry for another vorn!" Lockdown's hooked hand dug sharply into Bumblebee's arm, earning a small whimper of pain from the scout. Optimus put both hands up and said,

"I'm sorry about what happened to you, Lockdown, but hurting one of us isn't going to change things. The only thing I can suggest is that you talk with Ultra Magnus and—"

"Ultra Magnus is the one who banished me, Autobot. He will not listen, and I just don't care at this point. I have an Autobot right here, and I am ready to kill him if you piss me off any more." His hold on Bumblebee tightens a bit, and he presses the gun against his head a little harder. I sigh and decide it's time to make a bargain.

Stepping out from the small crowd, I make myself known to Lockdown. He glances at me, points the gun at my spark and growls,

"Don't try anything funny, Guard."

"I won't," I promise, "I'm willing to make a trade with you. A bargain. You let Bee go, and you can have me." He eyes me suspiciously, and Prowl gasps somewhere behind me.

"No!" I turn to face him and say,

"S'okay, darlin'. Don't worry. I can handle myself 'round this guy." I turn my attention back to Lockdown, "So, whaddya say? Me for the kid?" Lockdown thinks about if for a moment, then says,

"Deal. Get your aft over here before I let him go. Any sudden moves and his death will be on your conscience." I raise my hands up and walk over slowly, careful about my movement. Behind me, I can hear Prowl gasping in disbelief, and it sounds like he's trying to keep himself from sobbing. When I turn around, he's kneeling on the floor, the medic beside him, trying to help his systems take in air properly.

Optimus Prime, while concerned about him, has his attention set on Bumblebee, whose shaking in Lockdown's arm. As soon as I reach the villain, he releases the little 'bot, who races over to Optimus and grabs him in a tight embrace. Optimus clamps his strong arms around his little soldier and whispers something inaudible to him. Lockdown's hand grips my shoulder tightly, something is pressed against my head and the last thing I see is Prowl's devastated, shocked face.

Then, everything goes dark.

* * *

Meh. Not the best chapter, but no biggie. I'm going to a late showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show tonight, so I gotta dash and get ready. Hope you liked it!

-Juana


	10. Caught

Chapter Six: Television is Evil

**Chapter Ten: Caught**

"Mornin', Guard."

I groan as something heavy leans on my midriff, and I slowly realign and on-line my optics. I can tell I'm still on Lockdown's ship, and I'm strapped down yet again to one of his examination berths. Lockdown himself is currently leaning on my midriff, wearing a sick, amused grin.

"You think you're such a hero," he said, baring his freakish teeth at me, "don'cha?" I don't struggle against my bonds; rather, I answer him,

"I guess so. What'd you do with the others?"

"Oh," he said casually, inspecting his claws, "you know. Paralyzed 'em, shoved 'em in a cell somewhere. I didn't have my fun with the brat like I wanted, but whatever. I have your little boyfriend to play with now. You can watch if you want. Maybe if he sees you, he'll reach ov—"

"That's enough," I snap, disgusted and irritated. I knew he was going to take us all captive, I'm not stupid. I just couldn't bear to see that little Autobot get hurt like that. I keep my body relaxed on the berth; I'm not going anywhere, so I might as well get comfy. Lockdown continues to smirk at me, and it starts to really creep me out.

"WHAT?" I snap again, turning my head to glare into his twisted optics. He laughs for the billionth time since we've met and answers,

"Nothing, Autobot, nothing. I'm just trying to envision your face when you watch my hands dance on his chassis, my glossa licking his sensitive neck, when I ki—"

"STOP!" I scream at him, enraged, "DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!" This time I start to struggle, anything to break free and kill this sick fragger. He laughs yet again and whams his elbow into my midriff. I would give anything at that moment to be able to bend over and hold myself, but all I can do is scream in pain and swear at him and writhe in agony. It's pathetic, and he absolutely loves every second of it. He's a sadistic freak who loves to inflict pain upon his unwilling prisoners.

An idea. A flash of light in my processor—of course! I pray to Primus this will work…

"L-Lock…d-own…" I gasp, trying hard to form comprehensible words, "If-If I l-let you…have your w-w-way…with me…will you p-prom…ise to let the others g...go?" He stops laughing and stares at me in shock. He's thinking about it, which is good enough for me, and he's mulling it over in his head, I can see it in his optics. He rubs his chin in thought, then his optics run over my entire body.

"Hmmm…Perhaps, Guard."

"Jazz."

"What?"

"My name is Jazz." He grins.

"Very well, Jazz. I do my thing and I'll release them. One at a time, in a way." Wait, one at a time? In what way?

"Explain," I demand. He shrugs and answers,

"What, you think one overload is going to free them all? I've been alone for a very long time, Jazz. One overload per Autobot. So that's…the old guy, the brat, the fattie, the Prime, your boyfriend and you. Six altogether. Think you can handle it?"

If I had been standing, my jaw would have dropped. I can do it, yes, but I don't want to. I remind myself that it's to rescue and protect the others, and if being forced to do this is what it's going to take, then so be it.

"Oh, one more thing," he adds, "they get to watch. Once we're done, I'll let you all go. Of course, I'll be wiping your CPUs so you can't tell Ultra Magnus, and at that point, I'll probably go kidnap him. Megatron will pay beautifully for the old mech."

"You sick fragger…." I growl, but he waves his hand and ignores me.

"No, no, there's no need for such hurtful words, Jazz." He starts to walk off, probably to bring the others in for the inevitable show, and so I wait. I off-line my optics, I try to think happy thoughts…I think about Prowl. How is he? He must be worried, frightened and angry. I don't want him to see this, I don't want Lockdown to hurt me, or anyone for that matter. Why are bad guys always so much stronger? Why is one villain able to bring a whole group of us to our knees? How do they do that?

The thoughts swim in my head as the sound of shuffling feet nears the main room. I can hear energon chains rattling, and I realize Lockdown must have everyone chained up to one another: no one can escape. It would have to be a group effort, and not everyone on the team is fast. Lockdown is smart, I'll grant him that.

Everyone enters the room, bewildered and nervous. Bumblebee stands right next to his leader and the two huddle against each other. Bulkhead and Ratchet are wearing the angriest faces I've ever seen. Prowl—

Oh, holy Primus. Where the Pit is Prowl?

There's a cackle and a clang somewhere behind Bulkhead, who yelps in pain and steps to the side, making room for Lockdown to enter with Prowl pressed against him, his arm wrapped around my darlin's neck. Prowl's hands are attempting to pry the arm off, but of course it is to no avail. Lockdown is far too strong and far too large for my little Cyberninja to break free.

"Jazz!" he cries out, trying to pull away from his captor, "Jazz! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, sweetheart. What about you? He hurt you?"

"No. What's happening?"

"Shut it, both of you," Lockdown snaps, tightening his hold on Prowl's neck and choking him slightly, "unless you want me to rip out your vocals/"

"No," I reply angrily, "but tell me what you're doing with him." Lockdown looks down at Prowl, then says,

"What, this little thing? I'm giving him the best seat in the house. He'll see every little thing I do to you. You'll get to see him when you rear your head back. It'll be great for both of you."

"NO!" I yell angrily, "Don't you dare! This is between you and me, Lockdown!"

"What are you doing!?" Prowl roars as Lockdown chains his wrists and ankles to the wall, "WHAT IN PRIMUS' NAME ARE YOU DOING!?"

"Playing, of course," Lockdown answers casually, as though we're having a discussion about inflating energon prices, "Jazz and I are going to play. And you get to watch."

"Primus…." Prowl gasps, "you can't do this. Lockdown, please, there's no need to—AUGH!"

Lockdown smacks him across the face, then grabs his chin in his claws and hisses threateningly,

"Do not tell me what I can and can't do, Autobot. If you don't keep your mouth shut, I'll have my fun with you right after I'm done with him. Got it?" Prowl glares at him, optics probably narrowed angrily behind his visor, and gives no answer. Lockdown glares back, and for a moment, they engage in a staring contest, but no one ever sees who the winner would be, because in that same moment, Lockdown roughly pulls Prowl's face close to his and does what I've wanted to do since I laid optics on him.

Prowl's first kiss is stolen by this sadistic, evil, worthless piece of slag. Something violent instantly fires up in my spark, and I can feel the strange strength of angry hatred coursing though my circuits. I have a good view of Prowl's shattered, disbelieving face, and it fuels the once dormant beast within me. In almost one quick movement, I somehow manage to break free of my bonds as though they were made of thin metal sheets.

Lockdown's kiss lingers for a few seconds more, and then he feels my fists against his head and my knees ramming themselves into his side. He loosens his grip on Prowl and stumbles down to the floor, where he looks up at me with awe and fear. He knows he's crossed the line, I can see it in his optics, his fearful expression. Lockdown knows he is royally fragged, and there's no way around it.

With a roar, I begin to beat the slagger senseless, ignoring his pleas and cried for mercy. Instead, I yell back at him,

"WERE YOU GOING TO LISTEN TO MY PLEASE FOR MERCY? WERE YOU GOING TO SPARE ANY OF US OUR LIVES? OF COURSE NOT! YOU FRAGGING AFT!" My fists plunge into his face, his chassis, his legs, and every part of him they can reach. I refuse to stop, even when I hear Optimus Prime and his team yelling over Lockdown's cries. No, I tell myself, I will not let up. This miserable creature has made our lives a nightmare for long enough; it's time to put him in his place.

The beating continues until I hear Prowl's voice break through the shouting and the screaming. He calls my name desperately, trying to gain some control over the wild beast within me. I pause for a moment to look up at him, and decide to stop altogether when I look into his optics. I can see it's hurting him inside to see me act so violent toward another Cybertronian. I realize that in that sudden moment, in that burst of angry passion against Lockdown, I had become Lockdown. I back away from the damaged bounty hunter and look down at my hands, stunned just how much oil is caked on them and how much is spattered all over my body. Lockdown's body is leaking profusely. Ratchet is yelling to me to let him go so he can patch the hunter up; Ultra Magnus wants his aft alive.

Slowly, almost zombie-like, I move over to Ratchet, optics never leaving Lockdown's shaking body. I pick the locks of the energon chains like the skilled mech I am, and the medic gets right to work. I release Optimus, and then run over to Prowl. I quickly pick the locks on his restraints and pull him into a tight embrace. He returns the hug and presses his lips against my cheeks before burying his face into the curve of my neck.

We stand in each other's arms, trembling, and it's not long before we both start to sob like sparklings. We're both so tired of Lockdown. All we want is some time alone, no fears, no distractions, no interruptions. Just safe, free time to spend together, and so far, nothing has been working out for us.

"He's all patched up now," says the medic behind me, "and I've off-lined his primary functions for the moment. He can't see or hear us, and he can't move. We can transport him outta here and get him to Ultra Magnus. Speaking of Elite Guards, where's that aft-headed Sentinel Prime? Didn't you tell him to call for back-up?"

"Yeah," I answer quietly, "but in all honesty, Sentinel's too stubborn to take orders from me. I doubt Magnus will be up there when we swim back to the shore. What matters is that we have Lockdown. Let's go."

Without being asked, Bulkhead transforms and says,

"I can take Lockdown. I'll be able to fit out the doors. I want Optimus and Bumblebee to stay with him, too."

"Sure thing, big guy," answers Bumblebee. Ratchet and Optimus load Lockdown inside Bulkhead's vehicle mode, then the little Autobot and Optimus climb inside to keep an optic on the villain. Ratchet leads the way out, followed by Bulkhead, then me and Prowl. The ride back up is slow; Bulkhead is having some difficulty driving up the slope, but he pushes on like the trooper he is, and eventually we all make it back to the surface.

The first thing we encounter is an attack on our optics. The area is drenched in bright, artificial light from several bigger search-bots from the Elite ship (I notice for the first time how awful the lights look after spending so much time under the Earth's sun), and Ultra Magnus is standing there in the middle of it all. Seems Sentinel called for help after, albeit a little late. Optimus and Bumblebee climb out of their giant friend, unload Lockdown, allowing Bulkhead to transform back to robot mode. Magnus extends a hand to me and Prowl to help us out of the water.

"How are you all holding up?" he asks, oblivious to just how sick our experience was. I shrug and answer,

"Magnus, I'm not one to complain or criticize much. I don't even like to swear that much. But damn it, where the frag was everyone?! We could have been killed down there." Magnus looks taken aback, but he quickly regains his composure and answers,

"Jazz, we only just got here."

"I can see that," I retort, flashing Sentinel a nasty look, "I'd like to know why." I've never spoken so poisonously to my Commander before, and it'll probably earn me a few days in the brig. But I just don't care. I want to know why help didn't arrive sooner. Magnus' face tightens, but then he relaxes and says,

"Jazz, I'm sorry. I have no excuse. We were late in hearing about it, and we were late in acting."

"Damn right you were." Prowl grabs my arm in protest—he doesn't want to see me sent to the brig for my behavior, but I refuse to shut it just yet. Magnus tries to continue his apology.

"Jazz, I understand. You're angry with me, with Sentinel. It's—"

"Sentinel," I yell as I turn my attention to the coward, "why in the fraggin' name o' Primus is everyone late? I gave you a direct order, and you refused to acknowledge it!" I point a finger at my fellow Guard, and he stands there with a meek expression slapped on his face. He fights the urge to tremble as I storm up to him, leaving Prowl and Magnus standing together to watch. In fact, I notice everyone is watching, save for some of my men who are loading Lockdown into a portable cell.

"I didn't…I wasn't…Jazz, I figured you guys would have been able to take him on. I mean, he's one guy! What could he possibly do?"

"A SLAGGIN' LOT," I growl as I stride right up to him, sticking my face up to his, "He may be one mech, but he's damn strong. And his ship is full of nasty surprises. He took us out with the flick of a switch, Sentinel. You would have emptied your fuel tanks in fear if you had been down there."

He looks like he's been smacked in the face. He's shocked, and so is everyone else around him. I hear Prowl whisper something to Magnus, whose face falls into sudden understanding. He walks over to me and extends a hand.

"Jazz, calm down. Let's just go back to the ship and talk it out, all right? It's clear you need to vent, but please, not out here. There could be humans watching, and the last thing we need is more bad publicity." I release some pent up air in my systems and allow them to whirr down as best they can to a calmer state. Prowl walks over to me and takes my hand, then whispers something comforting into my audio. I nod and answer Magnus,

"All right. Let's go." We all transform to our vehicle modes and take off back to the ship.


	11. First Kiss

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers.**

**Chapter Eleven: First Kiss**

Back at the ship, Magnus does not send me to the brig as I had anticipated he would but instead allows me and Prowl to go to my private quarters. He informs me before we go that he wishes to talk, so we should expect him to arrive sometime later tonight.

I'm seething with anger, and Prowl tries to get me to calm down by taking my hands and pulling me close so he can wrap his arms around me, rubbing my back and whispering gentle words of love to me. I'm so upset that I'm not returning the contact at all. He senses my tension and says,

"Jazz, maybe you should sit down. You're tense; it's not healthy to be so angry." I release Prowl and push him away gently.

"I know," I answer as I move over toward my berth and sit down, "I'm just…you know. He scared me. I never get scared, Prowl. Never. But I was terrified. I was scared he was really going to hurt me, and you and everyone else. I'm so used to being able to protect myself and others that being helpless for the first time…it's awful! I never want to feel that way again."

"You won't", he reassures me as he sits down beside me, placing one dark hand on my back and the other on my shoulder, "You won't. You're the indestructible Jazz. Nothing can hurt you." I chuckle slightly at the comment, then look to my door. Part of me wants Magnus to come in—I haven't felt like a youngling in so long, I just want to start crying and yelling. Maybe I'll end up doing it, but I doubt it. I want to get mad, and yell at someone, and I'd rather it not be Prowl.

Moments drag by, and they consist of Prowl stroking my back, my neck, my arms, anything to get me to calm down and relax after the incident in Lockdown's ship. I offline my optics and try to think of everything I should be happy about: no one died, no one was hurt or violated. Everyone ended up safe. Even Lockdown is still alive.

"Prowl," I ask quietly, "Are you angry with me? For what I did to Lockdown?"

"Angry?" he repeats, mildly surprised "no, of course not. I was concerned, I'll admit, but I'm not angry. I did the same thing, do you remember?"

"Yeah. I guess I kinda forgot about that, huh. Geez. I just feel like an afthead for bein' so disrespectful to Magnus, y'know? The guy is like a father to me, and there I was, gettin' all angry and up in his face."

"I'm sure he doesn't mind," says Prowl, rubbing small circles on my back with his sharp yet careful, cool fingers. It feels wonderful, and so relaxing, that I finally start to chill out and rest my anxious, upset, tense body against his. I suck in a few deep intakes of air to cool my internal systems down, and lean over to rest my head on Prowl's shoulder. I can feel him smile as I do so, then his arms wrap around my upper body as he nuzzles against me. I return the gesture by placing my arms around him, and we sit there, content once more.

I can hear his vents humming softly. I can tell by the way he's holding me that he too was genuinely frightened of what could have been. It seems he's the type to give the world a façade of fearlessness, to show that he's more than capable of taking care of himself, but I know better. Yes, he can take care of himself, but that's not enough. He needs me, he needs to be loved, and I'm so willing to give it to him. I'm happy he's willing to take it and give it in return.

There's a soft knock at the metal door, and I already know who it is. I reluctantly break the embrace we share before I call Magnus in.

"Come in," I call to the closed door, and sure enough, Ultra Magnus enters my room, stepping in somewhat sheepishly. He's probably just worried about walking in on us being intimate, but we're both far too shaken to go further than hugging or cuddling.

"Hello, Jazz."

"Hi, Commander."

"How are you feeling? Everything all right? Do you need to talk about anything?"

"I'm feeling better now that we've had a chance to relax and take it easy. I'm…I'm sorry for how I behaved after—"

"DON'T," he raises a hand to stop me, "don't, Jazz. Don't apologize. You had every right to say what you said. You were angry; everyone gets angry at some point. You always keep your anger inside. I've never seen you act in such a way before, so I'm not surprised, nor am I angry that you finally exploded tonight." He smiles at me, to prove that he isn't upset with me.

"I'm never angry, sir," I answer, with just a slight twinge of annoyance in my voice, "I was just really fragged off." He doesn't flinch, although I know he has a deep dislike for cuss words. He generally asks me to keep it clean as best I can, but tonight, it's just not going to happen. He turns his attention to Prowl briefly,

"Prowl, how are you feeling? Optimus has asked me to let you know that if you need to talk, you can go to him for anything."

"I know, sir," Prowl answers, "but I don't think it will be necessary. I'll be all right. It's Jazz I'm concerned about. Jazz, if you want to talk in private with your commander, I have no obje—"

"No," I interrupt quickly, "no, baby. I want you here. Don't leave me." I grab his hand and hold it tightly; I have no desire to be left alone right now. Prowl squeezes my hand in return, and then we both look at Ultra Magnus, who nods and continues.

"Right now, Lockdown is being held in one of our strongest cells, guarded by eight of our soldiers. His communicators have been disabled, his weapons have been taken away, and he is currently paralyzed. He can't do anything now."

"How did he get out last time?" I suddenly ask, curious. Ultra Magnus answers,

"In all honesty, Jazz, I don't know. He's an experienced old mech."

"'Old'?" I ask, "How old could he possibly be?"

"Ratchet was kidnapped by him during the Great War," Prowl answers, "Lockdown looks young, but he's not. It's probably all those upgrades that keep him from aging. They aren't his real body. I'm willing to bet that most of those mods are from young mechs like us. He needs new ones constantly to keep his body as young as possible."

"Damn," I mutter, disgusted. Magnus nods and says,

"Unfortunately, the video feed we had of him was destroyed in his sudden departure. He ripped it out and crushed it before taking off. But now, he has no way of getting out unless someone helps him. Optimus and his crew are returning to their section of the city; they had a bit of a scare down there, I take it?"

"Yes," Prowl answers, "We're only repair 'bots. We've seen a lot of action, but that was a little too much for us. We haven't been trained like the Elite Guard has been."

"Which is why I am going to start training you, all of you," Magnus says, shifting a bit. "I've discussed it with Optimus, and he was extremely open to the notion. I'll be training you all personally. I reviewed all of your files myself, and I know each of your reasoning for being a repair 'bot. That little Bumblebee fellow got in too much trouble with Sentinel in boot camp, it seems. Your teacher lost his life in an unfortunate accident, and so on."

"What about Professor Sumdac?" asks Prowl, "What is going to happen with him?"

"We currently have a team back at Lockdown's ship, searching for clues about the whereabouts of this organic," answers Magnus, "they have a few leads, and soon we'll be ready to move in and perform a rescue."

"Good," smiles Prowl, "that's wonderful. Sari will be so happy to hear that." He gives my hand another squeeze, then I say,

"Thanks, Commander. I'm feelin' better about this now. I think we just want to be alone now." Well, I just want to be alone with Prowl, at least. Our intimate time together keeps being interrupted, and it's really starting to bother me. Ultra Magnus nods in understanding, gets to his feet with a creak or two (he's really old, this mech), salutes us, and us him, and leaves with a little smirk on his usually stony face. We watch him close the door, and then, I pounce on top of Prowl, pinning him to the berth.

The surprised expression in his face tells me he isn't ready for this just yet, and I move to get off of him, but he suddenly grabs my shoulders and pulls me back down.

"Jazz," he whispers, "I'm not ready for anything too intimate, but I don't mind this. Now, are you really okay, or are you just trying to hide your feelings?"

"I'm fine sweetheart, really I am," I answer as I caress his cheek, "but I do want somethin'. Remember when we were in the park, and I asked if you were ready for a kiss? You said 'no'."

"I remember," he answers with a little smile.

"Do you remember how, just before Lockdown took you, you decided to try it right after you said no?"

"I do," he giggles like a sparkling, and it's just too cute.

"Prowl, may I kiss you?" There's a moment of slight hesitation, but then he pulls me down a bit closer and whispers, barely audible,

"Yes, you may." My spark jumps in its casing, my smile grows even bigger than before. I decide to take it slow, especially for him, seeing as he's lost his first kiss to a crazy bounty hunter. I gently cup the back of his head with my hand while the other strokes his neck lightly, tickling him with my light touch. He gasps at the gentle touches, unused to being held and loved like this. I chuckle to myself, loving the control I have over him.

I make him wait for a short while, kissing his cheeks and neck, and whispering loving words into his audios before I do it. We've both waited long enough for this, and I want it to be absolutely perfect. My fingers explore his face, his lips and chevron. My lips give him light touches to every part of his face and neck expect the lips, and he gasps under each little touch. I continue to make him wait until he cries out,

"Primus, Jazz! I can't wait any longer! Please, kiss me now!" I smile wide, then I lean into him, pressing my lips against his and titling his head with my hand just a bit. He moans into the kiss and reaches up to grab my wrist, trying to pull me in closer to him. He squirms beneath me, gasping in between the kiss and begging for more. We aren't even interfacing yet and he's already going into overload. I can't wait to see what he's like when we uplink at some point in the future.

I straddle his hips without the intention of interfacing, but it sends him over the edge, and very soon, he can't get enough of me. He grabs my arm and quickly flips me over so that he is now in control. Prowl begins to kiss every inch of my upper body and caresses my chest with his fast, sharp fingers. He's biting and kissing my lips and neck hungrily and lovingly as he continues his attack. I can't believe how much he's enjoying this, and I can see he can't believe he's doing this to me.

Several minutes later, from what I was told later the next day, the two of us could be heardby the rest of the ship, screaming each other's names as the non-interfacing overload took us both to the outer reaches of ecstasy.

* * *

**Don't worry, I'm just as surprised as you are that I wrote that. I don't write sex or anything, but I just felt that this was what would really happen. You fall in love, you lose control over yourself. Maybe. I dunno.**

**-Juana**


	12. What's Your Damage?

**Chapter Twelve: What's Your Damage?**

**Oh man, long time since I touched this one. A lot going on. Anyways, yes, new chapter is up. I've been slow on this one and the others. Writer's block. The ideas are there, it's just grabbing them and confining them to a life on virtual paper that's hard to do. Anyway, hope you all like. **

**ALSO! I now have a LIVEJOURNAL! it's here: http : / / ****cliker-rooster dot livejournal dot**** com (i had to write it like that becuase ff dot net sucks like that, you guys know how to type that in) go check it out. it's got my craptacular icons and such. Woot.**

**-Juana**

"What are you doing with him? We could hear you two screaming like sparklings in there, Jazz. What the frag is your damage?"

It's the day after our most intimate moment together. Prowl had to return to his base with his team, and I needed to stay with Ultra Magnus for a meeting. After the meeting, Sentinel follows me out into the hall and stops me, forcefully grapping my shoulder and spinning me around to face him. He is glaring at me, hands on his self-important hips and giving me a talking-to about my relationship with Prowl.

"I mean, he's a filthy repair bot! What's he good for? Nothing, Jazz. He's worthle—OOF!"

'That should shut him up,' I think as I glare down at him after giving him a nice sock to the midriff. Sentinel earned it, and he knows it. I kneel down beside him, grab him by an audio and growl in a thin, harsh voice,

"If I ever hear you utter even a sound about him, I will destroy you, Sentinel. You got that? Who I love is my business. He is not dirty, he is not infected with anything, and he is NOT worthless, unlike some 'bots I know. Now get outta my sight before I report you to Ultra Magnus." Sentinel struggles under my grip, then knocks me to my feet in one quick movement. I land on my aft with a yell and before I know it, Sentinel is on top of me, yelling,

"THAT STUPID NINJA HAS DONE NOTHING BUT GET YOU IN TROUBLE!"

"I get myself into trouble all the time, you oaf!"

"YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED BY THAT FRAGGING BOUNTY HUNTER!"

"He would have come after me regardless of whether or not I was in love with Prowl!"

"AND I WOULD HAVE PROTECTED YOU, JAZZ!"

"Sentinel, you were terrified! You couldn't even radio for help!"

"I ALWAYS THOUGHT THE GREAT JAZZ COULD TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF! YOU'VE NEVER NEEDED ANYONE'S HELP BEFORE!"

"No one is perfect, Sentinel! Now get the frag off of me!"

"NOT UNTIL YOU LISTEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY!" I try to push Sentinel off, but he pins me to the floor, crushing my arms in his hands. I glare angrily up at his face, ready to bite him if I have to, but then I notice something stunning: Sentinel is crying. He isn't as angry as I thought him to be; he isn't yelling to make me angry.

"I loved you," he whispers hoarsely, barely audible, "do you hear me?! I LOVED YOU!" His vocals trembled, "And now you're off with that skinny little repair 'bot, making him scream your name and protecting him with your life!"

I stare dumbly now, making no sound and not even moving. Sentinel's faceplates turn a darker shade of grey and he climbs off suddenly, muttering what sounds to me like an apology. I get up and grab his arm and pull him back.

"Listen to me," I start as he tries to pull away, keeping calm and remembering that he is younger than me, "LISTEN to me, Sentinel. I'm sorry I broke your spark, I didn't know. But I love Prowl. He's sweet, adorable, and he and I are just made for each other. We're both Cyberninjas, we understand the same logic, we share the same ideals and practices. We were meant to be, Sentinel. I may have fallen for you a while ago if you hadn't been so damn stubborn and arrogant. If you want to be loved, you have to give love in return."

"Oh, shut up," Sentinel growls at me, pushing me away, "just leave me alone." He starts to walk away, probably to his room, but I refuse to let him leave without adding one more thing:

"Do you still love him?"

"Who?" he asks defensively without turning around to face me, "Who could I still love at this point?"

"Optimus," I answer, "Do you still love him?" Sentinel grinds his dental plating and growls poisonously,

"Who the frag ever said I loved that glitch?" I shake my head and reply,

"Sentinel, the verbal beatings you give the guy is evidence that you still harbor feelings for him, although you show it in an odd way. Do you still love him?"

"Jazz…"

"DO YOU STILL LOVE HIM!?"

The hallways echo as the question bounces off the walls, and I have no doubt in my CPU that Ultra Magnus is sitting at his desk and wondering what the frag is going on out here. Sentinel lowers his head and answers dismissively,

"Jazz? You're an aft." And he walks away from me, clenching his fists and grumbling to himself. I allow myself to stand in the same spot for a moment or two, trying to calm myself down, but very quickly, I lose my temper and slam my fist into the wall, and yet another echo fills the halls. Behind me, a door slides open and a strong, worn hand is placed on my shoulder. The familiar voice says to me,

"Jazz, let's go talk, hmm?" I hang my head and follow Ultra Magnus into his office again. He closes the door and I let myself loose.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Commander. I'm losing my mind. Either I'm being kidnapped by crazy, sadistic bounty hunters, or I'm being placed in the brig for something stupid, or Sentinel is being an aft! Why!? I never hurt anyone, I never get mad, and I never do anything that could earn me a few enemies within the Autobot community! I finally find the one person I can't get enough of, and I have to put up with Sentinel's scrap! He couldn't have told me he was in love with me a few stellar cycles ago, no; he had to wait until I got serious with someone else! It's like all the bad stuff that was meant to happen in my life decided to wait until now to show up!"

I slam my fist into a wall for a second time, and Ultra Magnus doesn't even flinch. I stand still for a moment, partially hoping he would say something, or even hug me, something, ANYTHING to help me feel better. But he just stands at the door, watching and listening silently. I groan in frustration and ask him to step aside.

"Jazz, sit down."

"No, sir. I want to go see Pr—"

"I know. Sit down."

"Sir."

"Jazz." I stare at him for a klik, then slam my fist onto his desk and roar,

"LET ME GO, SIR." This time, he jumps back, startled. He grabs my wrist and growls,

"Damn it, Jazz, sit your aft down. NOW! That's a fragging order. Don't take your anger out on me, soldier." His grip on my wrist tightens, and even though I could easily break free, I would end up damaging Ultra Magnus in the process. He may be strong and experienced, but he's old now. Old enough to be easily damaged in the event I decide to do something brash. So I sit, but I'm not happy about it. Magnus holds my wrist still, not letting go until he's said what he needs to say.

"You don't want to go to the brig, Jazz, yet here you are giving me reason to send you there. Think for a moment: I am your commander. You have acted violently in both words and actions in my office. You want to go see your partner. Now imagine, Jazz, that you get angry again over there with him. If you're willing to show aggression towards me, then what are the chances of you doing the same to him, hmm?"

I struggle against his grip, as it suddenly gets tighter. Magnus grabs my head and makes me look straight into his optics and repeats,

"Think about it, Jazz. You've held all your anger in, despite whether or not you know it anymore. You could lose your mind and end up hurting Prowl. Now listen. LISTEN to me, dammit. Don't let Sentinel ruin your day, ever. He's a good soldier, but he's also a jerk. I know that, you know that. It's not something that can be easily denied, and frankly, I don't give a frag what he thinks or says about me, or you. He will have ruined your day with his negative attitude only if you LET him. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"

Of course I do, but right now I'm so enraged that I don't care enough to really listen to my commander. I retract my visor and stare at him angrily; it startles him. My optics are sensitive, and it hurts like a fragger to not wear my visor to block out the light. It's known that when the Jazz-man retracts his visor, you are one screwed mech.

Magnus and I continue our staring contest until there's a knock on the door. He calls, without taking his optics off me,

"Yes?"

"It's me, Commander. Optimus Prime. Sentinel called me over."

"Did he now? Come in, Optimus." Magnus lets me go and gives me a look that orders me to stay put. Frankly, I have no intention of leaving now. I want to hear what this Prime has to say. Optimus enters the room, standing up straight and tall, doing his best to be as respectful as possible. He's a cute kid, but a bit annoying.

"Optimus, please sit," Magnus says as he takes a seat himself, "Tell me why Sentinel called you over." Optimus remains standing, then glances uncomfortably at me.

"I, um…it's about Jazz. And Prowl, sir. Sentinel has given me reason to be concerned."

"EXCUSE ME?" I jump up from my seat and holler in the young Prime's face, "AND WHAT, PRAY TELL, IS THE PROBLEM?"

"JAZZ!" Magnus roars, "Sit down this instant, or so help me I WILL send you to the brig for three mega-cycles!" I glare angrily at my Commander, then at Optimus before I sit back down, just at the edge of my seat. I'm so ready to explode and break someone in half, but I hold my anger in as best as I can. Optimus looks at me and says,

"Jazz, sir, I'm sorry. I don't believe what Sentinel said at all, but I think it's important that you know he's saying it. He claims…Sentinel claims that you raped Prowl, and that you are abusing him behind closed doors. I know it's not true, because I've seen the two of you interact, and it's far from abusive and unloving. Plus, I haven't seen any evidence of damage."

That…fragging…little…afthead…. I get to my feet and growl quietly,

"Commander, permission to kill Sentinel Prime." Magnus shoots me another sharp, harsh look, orders me to sit back down, and then turns his attention to Optimus.

"Thank you, Optimus, for sharing this. I know Jazz would never hurt Prowl, or vice versa. I think Sentinel is experiencing some…issues of jealously, if I may be so bold to say. I'll discuss this with him later; right now I have some business with Jazz to take care of."

"Thank you, sir," Optimus says, bowing his head quickly. He turns to leave, but then looks down at me and says,

"Prowl really misses you. It's only been less than a day, and he's already talking nom-stop about you. It's quite out of character for him. You've made him very happy, Jazz. Don't get in trouble, he wants to see you." Optimus leaves the office and closes the door, leaving me stunned and Magnus pleased.

"Now aren't you glad you didn't get too angry?" The question is part-joking, part-seriousness. I am still for a few moments, then answer,

"Commander, I respect you, and I'll do anything to serve you, but don't piss me off. This is extremely important to me. Now, if you don't mind, I have to go and—"

"SIT, Jazz. I know you're upset. I am too. Please, just sit down. I do not wish to send you to the brig, but I will if I believe you are a threat to yourself or another. I want to call Sentinel in for a talk… he acts fast, apparently. You two had your little fight only a few breems ago. But if I call him in, will you promise not to attack?"

"I—Commander, I can't…this isn't—dammit, I want to beat the slag out of him!"

"Then how do you propose we go about this? I can't have you deactivating my second-in-command." I flash a nasty look at Magnus, then say,

"I promise I won't kill him. But I am going to hit him. You can't stop me."

"And if I send you to the brig for it?"

"You won't. You know damn well I've earned this one." Magnus sighs and nods. Yes, he knows I've earned the right to give Sentinel a good smack to the face. Or a punch to the midriff. Perhaps a kick to the—

"Sentinel Prime, report to my office immediately." Magnus is the type of guy who will not dilly-dally, and soon, that afthead is at the door, knocking meekly. I think he knows he's been caught. I vow to myself silently that I will not go easy on him. Magnus calls him in, and the soon-to-be-destroyed 'bot enters the office quietly.

"Sit," says Magnus, gesturing towards an empty chair. Sentinel obeys. The room is silent, save for the whirring of our bodies. My own body is heating up with anticipation, and before I decide to smack him right there, Magnus gets up, pushes me back into my seat and says,

"Sentinel, Optimus Prime has informed me that you have a very serious claim to make regarding Jazz and his partner. Would you care to explain yourself?"

"I—sir, I—"

"Oh, frag it, Sentinel. Just tell us what you told him." Magnus never swears, and this catches both of us off guard. Sentinel lowers his head shamefully and answers,

"I—I told Optimus that I saw…I saw Jazz hitting Prowl."

"And is this claim true?"

"…No, sir."

"Tell me why you decided it was a good idea to spread this lie."

"I have noo excuse sir." Magnus nods, then says,

"Sentinel, who else did you tell this lie to?"

"No one, sir. Only Optimus."

"Good. If this stupid lie got out to anyone else, do you know the bad reputation Jazz would get? That the Elite Guard would get? There are consequences for bad moves, Sentinel. You know that."

"I…I know, sir. I apologize." His apologetic act is starting to piss me off, and my arm is trembling to hit him, so I let it do the talking.

"OW! Fraggin'…Jazz…Primus…what the fr—"

"You know damn well you deserved that," I roar in his face, slamming a fist on Mangus' desk, "How dare you make up such a sick lie! I hope you deactiv—"

"JAZZ, that's ENOUGH," Ultra Magnus interrupts, grabbing my arm to prevent me from smacking Sentinel again, "Sentinel, you are to spend two mega-cycles on the brig for your unprofessional behavior. Jazz, normally I would send you to the brig, but seeing as you had a good reason to act in such a way, you may go. I'm sure Prowl wants to see you." I stand there, just a bit stunned, then bow my head and say gratefully,

"Thank you, thank you, sir. I—I'm sorry for my earlier behavior. I was angry, and out of line. I apologize." Magnus gives me the slightest sliver of a smile and answers,

"Forgiven. Now go. Someone misses you."

* * *

**Ugh. It's short. I just wanted it to be done. I have other ideas for this fic, so sit tight and check out my other fics.**

**R-n-R, yo.**


	13. Are You Gay?

**Chapter Thirteen: Are You Gay?**

**Juana la Cliker-Rooster**

**2008**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any faction of Transformers.**

As I drive towards Prowl's base, I quickly call him to let him know I'm on my way. He sounds very excited to hear it, which indicates to me that he has no idea of what Sentinel had accused me of. I decide to tell him later in the evening, because right now, I'd rather we just held each other and talked. Or remained silent, it doesn't matter. As long as we're together, anything's cool.

I arrive at the base and enter, running into Optimus Prime, busy with watching the news; he's unaware of my presence. He's such a responsible young mech. I can't understand why he dropped out of school, but I keep my head out of it. Not my business.

"Optimus Prime, sir," I call, and he jumps just a bit, "Hi. I'd like to apologize for my behavior earlier. I was fragged off, y'know? Sentinel is a glitch-head, and he'd been—"

"It's all right, Jazz, I understand. I'll admit I was surprised at your reaction, because I've never seen you mad before. You were an instructor at the academy once, right? I saw you teaching a class one time, while hurrying to my history class. One of your students started to call you names and a bad teacher. But you stood there with a smile, then dismissed the student like the class was over. I was amazed by your ability to remain calm, no matter what the situation was. So seeing you ready to kill someone…well, I guess I was pretty shocked."

"Heh…I taught there for a very short time, but yeah, I stay chill. I've seen so many mechs destroy themselves with their negative, angry attitudes, and it kills them. They're online, but they aren't alive, y'know? I told myself I would never allow myself to become angry and negative, but I guess I needed to go off on that stupid kid. Sentinel really pushed me to my limit."

"Hm. Anyways, Prowl's in his room. I think he knows you're here. He's been very different lately, Jazz. He used to be quiet and hide in his room all day, or in the park, and he was always so condescending and easily aggravated. Now he's becoming all smiles, helpful, and even a bit more social. Not as social as Bumblebee, but he comes out of his shell more often. You've been good for him, Jazz."

"Thanks, Optimus. You're a good guy, remember that. I personally wish you were on my crew instead of Sentinel, just between us," Prime's face turns a very dark shade of blue with embarrassment, "I'll see you later.' I run off in the direction of Prowl's room, and knock. Normally I would love to play a game or trick on him, but I think we both want to see each other badly.

His door flies up and his strong hands pull me inside so fast I don't have a chance to process it. Prowl throws me to the floor and jumps on top of me, pressing his lips against mine in a fit of passion. I return the kiss and throw my arms around him, pulling him down closer. We continue our kissing session for a few moments before we hear someone yell,

"EW! Are you KISSING? YECH!" The two of us stop and look toward the little voice, suddenly realizing that we neglected to close the door. Less than a second later Prowl jumps up to his feet and holding back his surprise and annoyance as best he can, growls,

"Sari, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to play in your tree. Why are you kissing Jazz? Boys can't kiss each other! Are you gay?" I sit up and answer in a post-kissy-kissy daze and give Prowl a confused look. We both search for the word and its many meanings, but we manage to figure out how she means: 'homosexuality'. I chuckle and answer for both of us,

"Sure we can. S'perfectly normal, kiddo. Happens all the time on Cybertron."

"But…it's weird."

"Sari, it's fine," Prowl says, kneeling down to be closer to her, "it's normal for humans, it's normal for animals, and it's normal for us. Humans call it 'homosexuality', meaning two people of the same sex, like two boys, or two girls in a relationship." Sari responds

"Well if it's so normal, then why do kids at my school call each other gay and fags? Isn't that a bad thing to be?" Prowl sighs, then answers,

"Sari, you know how some people call other people names for wearing glasses, or being fat? Or for having different skin colors? It's the same thing with being 'gay': some people are insecure and don't understand that being different is okay. Sometimes, people who are hateful of gays are gay themselves, and don't know how to handle it."

"Is someone going to hurt you for being gay, like on the news?" she asks nervously. I laugh and answer.

"Sari, on Cybertron, there ain't no such thing as 'homosexuality'. We're genderless, meanin' there are no boys and no girls. We are not like humans. Humans are the ones who call us boys, because apparently we sound like boys. That's all." Besides, we're giant fraggin' robots—who the Pit is gonna try to hurt us? Honestly.

"Really?" Sari asks, amazed. It's obvious that she too believed all of us to be part of the male sex. It's quite amusing, actually. She smiles up at us and says one more time, just to be clear,

"So…there's nothing wrong with you kissing? It's okay?"

"Yes, just please don't talk about it in front of the other humans, Sari," I answer, "We already have to deal with Lockdown and Se—someone else. It's too much right now, okay? Now go play a video game." Sari nods, then runs off, probably to tell someone in the base what she saw. It doesn't matter to us, everyone is already aware of our relationship. Prowl stands there, still for a moment, then closes the door. He sits down next to me and rests his head on my shoulder.

"Well, that was a new experience."

"Very," I answer with a chuckle before wrapping my arms around him, "I missed you."

"I missed you as well," he answers, smiling into my neck. I tickle his arm, then pull him back down on top of me. He wraps his arms around me, and we lie there, quiet and content with just being together. We fall into recharge quickly, our sparks humming together in one rhythmic pattern.

* * *

It's dark out when we come back online. Prowl sits up and gasps,

"Were we recharging all day? I have to go out on patrol in less than a breem!" I sit up, happy as can be, and say in a sluggish voice,

"Mind if I come along?" Prowl smiles and stretches,

"Well, I don't mind. But I'm on patrol with…ugh…Bumblebee tonight. Primus, how did I forget that? Yes, please come along."

"Aw.…" I sigh as I give him a playful push, "admit it, you adore him." Prowl stares at me, then pulls off his visor so I can see him roll his optics.

"Oh, ha ha," he mumbles, "you're hilarious. Now come on, we should get ready to go. If we don't, he'll rush in here and freak out about it. I do not wish to see him riled up before he has to be." Prowl gets up and stretches a bit more, then makes his way to the door. But before he can leave, I jump up, fast as lightening, and snatch his wrist. I pull him from the doorway and slam his back into the trunk of his tree.

"Jazz, what are you—!"

I lean in and give him a fierce kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck as I do so. He quickly melts into it and throws his own arms around me. And then, the second interruption of the day runs in.

"Prowl, come on, we hafta g—Oh holy Primus! I don't wanna see you two interface! Eww! Gross! Nasty!" The two of us roll our optics, then I let go of my sweetheart and turn to face the terror known as Bumblebee.

"Hey, kiddo. How ya doin'? Y'okay after that encounter with Lockdown?" Bumblebee nods,

"Um…yeah, I'm cool. It was scary, but we're all okay. It could have been worse." I smile and reply,

"You're absolutely right, kiddo. So listen, you mind if I join you two on your nightly patrol?"

"Only if you promise not to interface," Bumblebee said in all seriousness, "I know you two are obsessed with each other, but I don't wanna see it." Wow, really serious little bugger. I nod and answer with a laugh,

"Okay, big guy. No interfacing. Promise." He smiles again, then says,

"We should get going before Prime sees us hanging out in hippieland." Prowl groans, and is about to retaliate, but thinks better of it and instead pounces toward the little 'bot, who scurries out with a little scream. I laugh, then follow Prowl out of his room and close the door down.

* * *

Outside, the night air is cool and windy, perfect and still. Prowl and I exchange one last kiss before we transform and begin patrol. The streets are empty, quiet and devoid of any humans except for one small group of younglings partaking in something they called '420'. Prowl calls in a police squad, who comes in and takes the younglings away for 'illegal possession', much like Cybertron has for certain materials.

After the 'drug bust', as the police call it, we are left with nothing to do, and we find a quiet section in the business district, where we can be loud and rambunctious if we so wish; no one lives there. Bumblebee welcomes the break happily, transforming to robot mode and running around to get his pent-up jiggles out, while Prowl and I sneak off into an alleyway to spend some 'alone time' together.

In the middle of me kissing Prowl's stomach, Bumblebee yells out,

"HEY! I may not be able to see you, but I can feel your energy fields spiking! Quit it!" We chuckle and groan, then walk out of the alley to meet with a very annoyed Bumblebee. His arms are crossed, his face contorted into something either disgusting or amused, and he says to us,

"Seriously, you guys can do that later. It's--ugh."

"What?" Prowl growls, "it's nothing bad. Humans are doing it as we speak."

"Yeah, but they weren't almost raped by Lockdown," Bumblebee snaps. Ah, so that's the problem." I walk over to the youngling and throw an arm around his shoulders.

"I think someone needs to talk about his encounter," I start, part serious, part playful. Bumblebee sits down and asks,

"is it normal to have nightmares about that guy?" I sit down next to him and answer,

"Slag yeah. He's a scary fragger, Bee. He knows it too. Don't worry, he won't be able to break out this time. We've got a bunch o' guys watching him, and he should be chained up. Ain't no way he's getting' out."

"Good," the little guy mutters, "I sure hope so. He gives me the creeps." I wrap an arm around the kid's shoulders and answer,

""Me too, kid. Me too. I think he's just very lonely. He said he had a family; he probably misses them a lot. He's old too. He might be getting a little crazy." Prowl sits down next to me and adds,

"Besides, even if he did get out, the first person he'll go after is Ultra Magnus or Jazz. He wants to hand one of them over to the Decepticons. Handing over Ultra Magnus would probably make him the richest bounty hunter ever. He'd be able to retrieve his family and live somewhere far from Cybertron."

"Oh, thanks, Prowl," I feign seriousness, "I have that to look forward to now, huh?"

"You and I both know it's true, Jazz," he answers, "Now, we should get back to patrol. It's quiet, but that's no excuse." Bumblebee and I groan like sparklings, then get up reluctantly. Prowl shakes his head, then says,

"Do you want to split up?"

"I'm staying with you, gorgeous," I answer right away. Bumblebee laughs and says,

"I can go off on my own. I'm old enough. Besides, being stuck with Prowl is what my nightmares are about. See ya back at the base, guys!" he waves good-bye and transforms, taking off into the night. Prowl and I stand alone, quiet and watching him go before we too transform and go in the opposite direction. As we drive, I decide it might be a good time to tell him about the Sentinel drama.

"Hey Prowl? I have to talk to you about something." He stops abruptly on the road (thank Primus no one else is out tonight!) and transforms to robot mode. The look on his face is devastated and worried.

"Did I do something wrong? Are we breaking up?" Wow. He is so paranoid. I smile and take his hands gently, then answer as softly as I can,

"No, no. That's not it. I couldn't do that. No, I have to tell you something, but you're not going to like it. I need you to promise me you won't go off and try to kill anything, okay?"

"Why would I—tell me what happened."

"Promise me."

"I promise." He squeezes my hands; he's trembling! He's terrified by whatever information I'm about to tell him. I sigh, not really prepared to give him the news, then say,

"Sentinel is causing some drama. I recently found out that he's been in love with me for a very long time, and he's really jealous of you, Prowl. Like, really jealous. He hates you. He...um…he went to see your commander and told him that I was…um…."

"What, Jazz?" Prowl growls, this time nearly crunching my hands in his sudden anger, "What did he say!?"

"Calm down, Prowl. He told Optimus that I was…geez. I don't want you to hear this."

"Please, just tell me," Prowl begged, "you're scaring me."

"Sentinel told him that I was abusing and raping you," I gasp out finally. There is an expected heavy silence surrounding us as the weight of the news settles on us. Prowl is still trembling, but more violently now. I throw my arms around him and pull him into a very tight embrace to ensure he won't run off and kill Sentinel. Prowl refuses to return the hug, and instead tries to push me off.

"No," I growl, "You're not going anywhere. Optimus came in and told me and Magnus. He was upset about it too, sweetheart. After he left, Magnus called in Sentinel, made him confess and sent him to the brig. He's there right now. Just calm down. He's being punished for his stupid lies." Prowl wrenches himself out of my arms and swings around to kick a crowd of trashcans over. He's furious! I take a few steps back and let him get angry. It's terrifying to see him so riled up and upset. After a breem or two, I inch in to carefully grab him and pull him close to me.

Prowl let's me take him in my arms and sobs into my neck. I stroke the back of his head gently and whisper,

"Don't worry. It's a lie, nothing but lies. They can't separate us over it. There's no proof that I've done anything to harm you, and everyone knows I wouldn't hurt you. Even the kids know. Everything is going to be fine, I promise." He continues to sob into my neck, and we stand there to let it all out before we decide to head back to the base. Unbeknownst to us, trouble is brewing back on Magnus' ship.

* * *

**Aw yeah. High five to anyone who knows what's about to go down. Anyways, I'm really glad people like this story. Please review! Or send me your guesses. i like that sort of thing. It's fun.**

**-Juana**


	14. So, What Are You In For?

**So some people guessed right, some didn't, but who cares? Here it is! Hope everyone is doing all right!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any faction of Transformers. **

**Please read and review!**

**-Juana**

**P.S. don't forget to look for me on Livejournal under username cliker-rooster!**

**Okay, so here: This chapter might confuse some people. What happens here, since Jazz isn't with these two, he's narrating what happened after veiwing memory chips or whatever from Sentinel. That's this chapter and next chapter, and then it'll go back to be Jazz narrating his story with Prowl. Easy peezy lemon squeezy? Good.**

**Chapter Fourteen: So, What Are You in For?**

Back at Prowl's base, I called Ultra Magnus and asked permission to spend the night with Prowl. He agreed, only asking that I return to the ship in the morning. I agree. That night, Prowl and I are silent for the most part, only speaking in whispers, telling each other little secrets about the other. Occasionally the secrets were interrupted by unexpected kisses and nuzzles until we were asked to join everyone for a movie. We joined them, but it was still a beautiful night of loving attention. I held my sweetheart tightly and as protectively as I could on the couch in the main room. We were both so upset with Sentinel; I had never been so mad in my life. Holding Prowl made me feel better, and I'm sure he was feeling the same.

But despite our beautiful night together, something bad was in motion back on the ship. I learned the events after the catastrophe, and this was what I saw in a memory chip retrieved from Sentinel Prime:

Sentinel sat in the brig, in the cell next to Lockdown's. The two were separated by a metal barrier of bars, but that was it. Lockdown was stuck in stasis cuffs, preventing him from moving. The guards watching him were on the outside of the cell, where they couldn't hear him. They merely peeked in every few breems to make sure he was still there or hadn't broken free.

Sentinel and Lockdown were silent and didn't speak to one another for a time. But Lockdown, being the slimy dog he is, struck up a conversation eventually.

"So, what're you in for, kid? You sing too loudly? Dance in public? Speak your opinion out loud?" Sentinel rolled his optics and growled back,

"You make us sound like we don't allow anything fun to happen."

"Well," answered Lockdown, "Autobots do tend to censor their people. Actually, they censor everyone. I'm sure you've done it yourself. So what happened?"

"None of your fragging business." Lockdown laughed that deep, heavy laugh of his; Sentinel cringed, then said stupidly,

"Primus, you are one scary fragger. I mean, look at you. You're so…weird." Lockdown shrugged and merely answered,

"Meh. Looks are the last thing I'm concerned with. Survival is more imperative than beauty contests. But, since we're on the subject, you ain't that gorgeous yourself. In fact, you're quite boring to look at. Except maybe for that chin of yours. That thing is sexy."

"'Ain't' isn't a word," Sentinel snapped angrily, disgusted by the bounty hunter's carefree attitude and comments. Lockdown answered with the slightest shrug,

"No, it ain't. But I still use it. You wanna know why? Because I can. I didn't grow up being repressed in the most useless ways possible. You apparently did. Now, then, tell me why you're here." When Sentinel didn't answer, Lockdown added, "I'll tell you why I'm here." Sentinel snorted and said,

"I already know why you're here. You're a Primus-damned bounty hunter."

"No, I'm the best Primus-damned bounty hunter. But I'm here because I fell hard for that little black ninja like the idiot I am. Now there's a beautiful creature. He's perfect." Sentinel's snort of disapproval caught Lockdown's attention. "I assume you dislike him?"

"I hate him," Sentinel growled without thinking, unaware he was feeding the fire of revenge, "I want to kill him. He took Jazz away from me." Lockdown smiled an evil little smile and replied,

"Well, now, seems we have a similar predicament. You want the white ninja, I want the black ninja, but yet both belong to the other. I think we would make a very nice team indeed, Sentinel Prime." The proposal caught Sentinel off-guard.

"What? No, no, I couldn't…I mean, I don't want to actually hurt—"

"He wouldn't remember. Neither of them would. I can erase their memories. I can make them fall in love with us. You can have your little ninja, I can have mine. We just need to team up. Admit it, you want this to happen."

What frightened me the most as I watched the replay of Sentinel's memory chip was his reluctance to say no. He actually considered the proposal before answering,

"Yes. I'll do it. But I want to beat that little repair 'bot, just a little."

"Out of the question," answered Lockdown calmly, "You ain't gonna touch him. All we're doing is kidnapping them and wiping their memories. The four of us will have to stay together for a while, and you'll have to give up your status as an—"

"No," Sentinel growled, "We're going to wipe their memories and replace them. We'll make them believe they had a huge fight and ended up breaking up. I want Prowl to believe Jazz did abuse him. We'll set it up so it looks like Prowl ran away, when in reality you take him with you. Make him fall in love with you. You can do that, right?"

"Oh, absolutely," replied Lockdown, "Very well. That's the plan, then. You're smarter than you look, kid." Sentinel shrugged slightly, looking just a tad upset with himself for allowing himself to get in cahoots with the bounty hunter. But the prospect of having me as his lover and Prowl out of the picture must have pushed the doubt away, because he got to his feet and shuffled quietly over to Lockdown's cell.

"Try to move over here," he instructed quietly, "I can take those cuffs off." Lockdown tried very hard to move himself over to the barrier of bars, and it would have been in vain if he hadn't knocked his head into the wall, propelling himself to the floor and closer to Sentinel. He made sure his arms were held out—Sentinel was able to grab his wrists and pull him closer.

Once the cuffs were off, Lockdown got back up and stretched, his body creaking with age. Sentinel was surprised by it, actually. He was unaware, it seems, of just how old Lockdown was. The old mech turned his head ever so slightly to look at his new partner and growled,

"What're you lookin' at, kid?" Sentinel, never being one for sensitivity, asked right away,

"How old are you?"

"Now what kinda question is that?" returned Lockdown, not sounding very offended at all, "That's quite a disrespectful question, kid. But since you asked, I'm as old as Magnus. I just didn't age like the old mech, although he aged gracefully. Not like that Autobot medic, who looks like he's at the Well of All Spark's door. He didn't take care of 'imself, and now, he's a walking heap of junk. The idiot. Always take care of yerself, kid, remember that."

Sentinel was quiet, contemplating the old mech before him. I'll admit even I was surprised to hear it. My Commander looked…well, ready to fall apart at any moment in all honesty. But this bounty hunter looked like he could hold up a building with just his hand.

Lockdown held out his hand to Sentinel, who stared at it stupidly.

"What the Pit are you doing?" he asked. Lockdown answered,

"I want you to shake hands with me on this little team-up. We need to be able to trust each other."

"Funny," replied Sentinel just a little condescendingly, "It's me who should be asking to trust you. How much can I trust you to not turn me in to my Commander for this? How can I be sure you really have the equipment to erase their memories, and how can I be sure that you'll take Jazz's little princess with you?" Lockdown laughed immediately after this, and so hard that he actually dropped to his knee while holding his side. It clearly bothered Sentinel.

"What the frag is so damn funny?"

"HAHAHA! Do you honestly…hehehe…think I would…hah…hooo…pair up with a brat like you…hehehehehe …for the fun of it? I'm not your …hahaha...biggest fan, y'know ….hehehehe …stupid ….kid …heh …" Lockdown regained his composure a moment later, and stood back up, still wearing a toothy grin on his ugly face.

"I'm not a liar, nor am I going to turn you in. If you slip up, I won't turn around to help you. I'll grab my prize and leave. It's that easy. Don't mess up. Are you still in, kid, or are we gonna go back to sitting in here, bored out of our processors?" Sentinel was silent, then thrust out a hand.

"Let's get this over and done with," he mumbled. Lockdown's mouth twisted into a horrible smile as he grasped Sentinel's hand. The deal was made.


	15. The Partnership of Jealousy

**Chapter Fifteen: The Partnership of Jealousy**

Prowl and I are back at his base, resting on the couch and watching an old black and white horror film. He's quickly fading away in my arms as I rub circles on his back. Sari is on the floor with Bumblebee, and she has already fallen into recharge, curled into a little ball. Bumblebee sighs quietly with a soft smile on his face, and picks her up carefully to put her in her berth. Bed. Whatever it's called on earth.

I decide it's time Prowl and I went to bed ourselves, so I give him a gentle shake and whisper into his audio,

"Hey, you. Time for bed. Up, up and away."

"Mmmmm..." he sighs. He refuses to move. So I try again, "Prowl, get up. Let's go to your room."

"Nnngh…" What a baby! I chuckle and push him off me to stand up, but he simply collapses on the couch. In mere nanoclicks, he is 'snoring' loudly, curled into a ball, much like Sari had been a moment ago. I shake my head with a grin and pick him up; I carry him to his room and close the door as quietly as I can with him in my arms. After placing him carefully on his berth, I lay down next to him, stroking his arm and just gazing at his beautiful, peaceful face.

I rest my lips on his neck and offline my optics, focusing on his body's rhythm and the thrum of his spark, resting safely in his chest. I realize just how lucky I am that Primus sent him to me, and vice versa. I never would tell anyone, but before I met him, I was lonelier than anyone could ever think. Yes, I was surrounded by the crew of Magnus' ship, but they were merely work buddies. I was the only ninja on the ship, and the only one who could ever really keep his cool.

As I stroke his arm, his over-armor slides off soundlessly, exposing the damage of his past. I online my optics again and try to slide the thin metal back on, but stop myself. The scars are staring back at me, and I'm able to have a closer look at what my darlin' had done to himself. I want to heal them and make them leave him forever. I want to take away all his pain.

I am hesitant at first, afraid that he'll wake up and get angry with me for looking at his embarrassing damage, but somehow I doubt he would. I give in to my need to heal him and softly press my lips to the scarred arm. Prowl doesn't wake up. I kiss another scar and imagine it fading away. I kiss each scar slowly, quietly and tenderly so as not to wake him. I imagine that each kiss heals each scar and leaves him undamaged. I kiss the welding cuts, and pretend that my touch closes them up, making his arm perfectly smooth again.

But then I begin to really look at the scars, and I start to see beauty in them. Primus, they're actually very beautiful. Nothing, it seems, can make Prowl look ugly. He's just too gorgeous…even his small optics are beautiful. No. I don't want to take his scars away—they're part of who he is. These scars are too precious to be taken away. I resume kissing them, but this time to tell them they are beautiful, that he is beautiful. He never woke up.

I fall into recharge soon after. All seemed so right with the universe. If only I had known what was to come.

* * *

Sentinel and Lockdown had managed to knock their guards out, much as Lockdown had done in his first successful escape.

"Tsk, tsk. Autobots never learn, do they…Come on, kid. We've got work to do." Sentinel followed Lockdown down the halls, wordlessly pointing out where cameras and guards were positioned. Lockdown took them all out silently and perfectly—he had probably done this a million times before.

They exited the ship through a ventilation pipe large enough for them to crawl through. Lockdown told Sentinel he had escaped this way last time, and made him promise to keep his damn mouth shut about it. Sentinel merely nodded, biting his tongue for the first time ever. It was shocking that this team-up was actually working.

Once outside, Lockdown bolted in the direction of his ship, followed by Sentinel, who glanced back at the ship several times before focusing on staying with the bounty hunter. They transformed in a currently unpopulated sector of the city and sped towards the lake. Lockdown's ship was still down there, waiting for him to return.

They plowed through the park, avoiding detection from the human authorities and finally reached the water. Lockdown, being the crazy slagger he is, dived right in without a second thought, while Sentinel, ignorant, germ phobic Sentinel, stopped and stared. Much to his horror, Lockdown comm. linked him and sneered,

"What're you waitin' for, kid? Get down here! We've got work to do!"

"But…organics swim in this place…I'll get infected!"

"GET. DOWN. HERE." Sentinel winced, then obeyed the bounty hunter, more afraid of his wrath than of the germs he was now exposed to. He could barely make out Lockdown's dark, mismatched form yards away, sinking slowly.

They reached the ship, and Lockdown roughly grabbed Sentinel's arm to pull him in.

"Quickly," he growled, "we ain't got that much time. Someone is gonna notice those idiot guards are knocked out soon. I need to move the ship. Hang on."

Lockdown began to play with the ship's controls, managing to maneuver it to a farther part of the lake, where he landed it once more and cloaked both its appearance to resemble an underwater mountain, and its energy signal. He explained to Sentinel that he'd gotten the energy-cloaking device from an Autobot business owner who had needed some runaway employees hunted down after stealing a large sum from him. Lockdown laughed at the memory; he was sick.

Sentinel shivered slightly and most likely was wondering why he'd gotten himself involved with this mech. In his processor, the guy was probably going to kill him slowly and torturously, and then leave his remains at the base of Magnus' ship.

"All right, kid," Lockdown's voice cut through Sentinel's fears, "let me go get something. Come with me, I want you to see my place anyways. That way, you can say you fought me or something, and be accurate about it. Come on." Sentinel followed the mech quietly, far too terrified to say anything that could make Lockdown want to deactivate him. But Lockdown didn't seem too concerned with that at the moment—he was looking for something diabolical. He wandered into a room and began to rummage through the shelves for whatever it was he needed.

"Ah, there you are," he purred to a very simple machine, "I need you now." Sentinel shuddered again and simply watched. He had never been so quiet before—Lockdown was good for him in a way.

Lockdown adjusted the machine, a small device that resembled headphones.

"This," he said to Sentinel, "is my memory alteration device. I program which memories I want taken out, and what to replace them with. I can create up to eight folders of data, which means I can go after eight Cybertronians at a time, one after the other. I stick this sucker on a guy's head, it sucks out the memory I want gone, and replaces it with a nice little lie. I'm going to go program a file for Jazz, then another for Prowl. Come with me and you can tell me what you want for Jazz's memory."

He walked out of the room and into another that looked like his sleeping quarters. He sat down on his large berth with a creak or two and began to fiddle with the settings. Sentinel walked in as well, slowly and nervously. He stood at arm's length from Lockdown, who grunted,

"Sit down, for cryin' out loud. I ain't gonna bite you." Sentinel obeyed like a dog.

"Now, tell me what you want to have happen for Jazz." Sentinel opened his mouth for the first time since he'd arrived on the ship, hesitant and nervous, then answered with a shaky voice,

"I want him to believe that he caught Prowl writing a love note to Lockdown, but destroyed it in a jealous rage, so there's no lack of real evidence. I want him to hate Prowl and tell him he's a filthy, ugly, pathetic, untrustworthy piece of trash that should have never been sparked. I want him to see that I am a much better candidate for being his lover, and I want him to be devoted to me like he was to Prowl." It wasn't perfectly planned, but it would work.

"…And done," muttered Lockdown as he recorded the new false memories, "Not bad, kid. Pretty vicious and Decepticon-like; you've thought about this before, I can tell. You really want Jazz, huh." Sentinel nodded quietly, trying to tame his shame. Lockdown chuckled, then recorded his false memory for Prowl:

"I want Prowl to believe he was being physically, verbally and sexually abused by Jazz, who threatened to kill his little organic if he said anything. I want him to tell Jazz he's a sick, sadistic, incomprehensible, self-centered moron. I want Prowl to secretly forgive me, and come find me in my ship, down here in Lake Eerie without telling anyone. I want him to confess he finds me far more mature, intelligent and attractive than that loser, Jazz. He wants to run away with me and forget about Jazz."

He saved the two false memories and hid the device in his subspace.

"Well, Autobot, let's get to it. We're going to Optimus Prime's base and sneakin' in. I'm sure Magnus is looking for us as we speak, so let's get movin'. We'll sneak into their base, grab the ninjas and do away with their memories. After that, we'll take off and they'll come to us. Jazz will find you in your base, Prowl will find me here. Come on." Lockdown got up and walked towards the exit, ready to go, but Sentinel stood there and said nervously,

"I…I don't know if I can do this, Lockdown. I think we're going too far. Maybe Jazz and Prowl really were meant to find each other. I mean, Primus works in myst—"

"SHUT UP," snapped Lockdown, "This is going to happen, even if I have to take you out myself. You wanna spend the next few thousand vorns locked in my brig?"

"No, but—"

"MOVE." Sentinel hung his head and obeyed, his confidence crushed for the first time in his life. Lockdown waited impatiently for Sentinel before exiting the ship. Back in the water, Lockdown swam in a direction different from their original entering point. Sentinel followed like a soldier, too afraid to argue or show any disrespect for the older mech leading the way.

They reached the shore, where Lockdown checked his navigation system and said to Sentinel,

"Follow me. We're going east towards Optimus Prime's sorry excuse for a base. It's just a warehouse, right?"

"How do you know that?"

"I've done some snooping around. I like to know where my current crush lives."

"'Crush'? I haven't heard anyone use that stupid term since I was—hurk!"

Lockdown's hand was around Sentinel's throat in an instant, skillfully pinching essential wires carrying energon to Sentinel's voice box, optics and processor. He would become a useless shell if Lockdown pinched any harder.

"Listen to me, punk," Lockdown sneered, "I did not bring you along to listen to your fraggin' attitude. We're a team, kid, and when you're on my team, you keep your fraggin' mouth shut. Got it?"

Sentinel made every attempt to answer despite being held up by the incredibly strong mech. Lockdown dropped him to the ground unceremoniously and glared at him poisonously. Sentinel made a sound similar to a cough, then nodded his agreement for fear of having his head ripped off; Lockdown certainly looked capable of such a nasty act. Sentinel pushed himself back to his feet and nervously dusted the dirt off his knees and hands, making a face of disgust as he did so. Lockdown rolled his optics and mumbled something about germ phobic elite brats before starting to walk off. Sentinel followed at a safe distance, careful not to enrage Lockdown any further.

Disaster was on its ugly way.


	16. I Hate You

**Hey all. I've been working on this story like crazy because I might be getting a new job very soon, and it will most likely eat up all my time. So I'm finishing whatever I can now before it takes me three years to finish this story. This will be my second job, because the first doesn't pay enough, and two jobs is going to be crazy to juggle around with cleaning the house, hanging with friends (which is rare enough already), writing these stories and getting ready for the holidays (jeez, is it that time of year again already?) **

**So yes. There are going to be mistakes and errors in this, and it's not the longest. Guess who doesn't care? You got it. Enjoy the show. Hopefully I'll update "Prowl and Sari" soon too, because it's just so darn cute.**

**-Juana**

**Chapter Sixteen: I Hate You**

I was in a very deep sleep, curled up against Prowl, my arms wrapped around his shoulders, my head nuzzled against his chest. His thin, beautiful arms were wrapped around my waist, his chin resting above my head. His surprisingly loud snoring cancelled out any outside sounds there might be.

Lockdown and Sentinel had reached us, both surprised to find the security in Prime's base is somewhat lacking. Getting into Prowl's room is ridiculously easy, seeing as there's a huge hole in his ceiling. Lockdown was able to trace our energy signatures without any problem. He entered the room silently, and any squeaks or creaks he made were masked over by Prowl's loud snoring. I guess he does have a flaw after all.

Lockdown stood over us, still and statuesque with a malicious grin on his white face. I know because Sentinel was staring right at, trying not to suddenly protest and yell to awaken us. Lockdown kneeled down after a moment of gazing jealously at us and took out another weird doohickey from his subspace. It looked foreign, which meant it was certainly not of Cybertronian origin. He must have taken it from a victim on some obscure planet.

He placed the object, which looked like a very simple taser, over my head and pressed a button on its side. There was no sound, or no flash. Nothing to indicate he had used it; Sentinel, judging by his confused face, believed the gadget to be busted. But then Lockdown used it on Prowl next, and hid it away, looking satisfied.

"I've put them in stasis lock," he explained in a whisper, "I got this handy little thing back on another planet, I forget which one. But they had a war, and when it was over, my good friend Swindle and I went in and picked the fallen mechs dry. They all carried these, so I grabbed a bunch. Sold a ton of 'em to the Decepticons long ago, too. Made a little fortune off these things. Now, then, on to business. They can't hear us, so we can administer the false memories and get the frag outta here. I'll go first so you know what to do. Oh, one more thing: if anything goes wrong and those idiotic Autobots find us, I want you to pretend you're fighting me off. Let me run off with the ninjas, and tell the Autobots you had followed me to the lake to stop me. Tell them my ship is out of Lake Eerie and now in space. The energy signature they'll feel is energy residue. Got it?"

Sentinel nodded in agreement, processing the plan quickly in his head. It was clear Lockdown was quite the planner, and that he thought Sentinel was a total moron, which is something the bounty hunter and I would have to agree on.

He pulled out the little memory recorder thing and placed them over Prowl's audios, much like my headphones. He clicked the device on, and it played Lockdown's fake memory, downloading it into Prowl's processor and taking his real memories. When he was done, Lockdown handed Sentinel the memory altering device and said,

"It's the Jazz-man's turn. Do it, kid, or I'll take your memories and replace them with something incriminating." Sentinel took the device and placed it over my audios with shaking hands. He was about to hit the button when they heard a scuffle outside the door.

"Prowl?" called a little voice, "I had a nightmare. Can I sleep with you tonight?" The little organic, Sari, opened the door and peeked in. Upon seeing Lockdown for the first time in her life, she shrieked like a protoform. It was so high and shrill that it snapped me out of my forced stasis and called out the other Autobots.

I jumped to my feet and yelled at Prowl to get up as well. When he didn't move or answer me, I dove down to grab him, fearing the worst, but Lockdown was too quick for me—he snatched Prowl into his arms and kicked Sentinel down on top of me before running out. Optimus sent Bumblebee, Ratchet and Bulkhead after him, and stopped to help me and Sentinel up. At this time we thought he was trying to stop Lockdown; we had no idea he was in on this vicious, evil little plan.

"Sentinel, call Magnus," I yelled as I ran after the others, "Tell him it's an emergency! Go, NOW! Optimus, let's move!" I raced out, the more competent Prime on my heels. Neither of us saw Sentinel shake his head and start to stroll after us without contacting Magnus or any other backup.

We chased Lockdown to the lake, where he turned to face us, Prowl hanging limp in his mismatched arms and still unconscious. Lockdown looked us over and smiled, like he knew something we didn't. Then, to my shock, he dropped Prowl on the ground and came at us, plowing through Bumblebee and Optimus in one move, taking Ratchet down in another, exchanging a few blows with Bulkhead before knocking him in the head and sending him down with a crash, and finally, coming towards me with a triumphant grin on his ugly mug.

I prepared myself, ready to fight him to the death when something was clamped around my head. I felt a silent shock run through me, and heard a voice in my head telling me things I knew weren't true. As they filled my head, memories I cherished were sucked out, leaving me with an empty feeling in my spark. I dropped the ground, slumped over like an overcharged hooligan. Kliks later, I went offline. The last thing I saw was Lockdown's foot in my face.

When I woke up, I was back on Lockdown's ship, laying on a hard, uncomfortable berth in a cold, unforgiving cell. I sat up and a creak and groaned as pain shot through my joints. I could hear Prowl somewhere outside my cell, talking to Lockdown most likely. For a moment, I wanted to run out and grab Prowl away from that monster, but in the next moment, I hated him, and I wanted to let him know it.

"PROWL! GET YOUR BACKSTABBING AFT IN HERE!" He came storming in, his over-armor off, arms exposed. He stomped over to me and hissed,

"You shut your mouth. I'll never let you touch me again, you fragger. Look at my body! Look at what you've done to me! I hate you, Jazz, I HATE YOU!"

"What are you talking about, you little whore? I never hurt you! You're the one who hurt me, writing those disgusting little love notes to that ugly bounty hunter!"

"I did no such thing," he snapped back, "But I'll tell you this much—Lockdown loves me, and he refuses to touch me unless I let him. He's promised he'll never lay a hand on me the way you did. I ought to beat you, just so you know how it feels!"

"I never hit you!" I screamed back angrily, clawing at the primitive bars in the cell, "I NEVER BEAT YOU! You're insane! I found those notes, you told him lies! You wrote that you loved him! You said you loved me, you filthy whore! Who else are you writing these letters to?! Optimus? Sentinel? Come on, tell me, you dirty little bitch!"

Prowl kicked the door angrily and ran off, probably to go cry like the little femme he was. I hated him, but while I threw accusations at him, I wasn't sure if I believed them myself. I felt strange, like something was missing, and it scared me. I suddenly regretted speaking to Prowl so harshly, and tried to call him back to apologize.

"Prowl? Prowl, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it—please, let's just talk. Something's wr—"

"Mute it," growled that deep, familiar voice, "Prowl doesn't have to listen to anything you say. He's safe now."

"Lockdown," I hissed, "What is this? How did we get here?"

"Prowl came to find me," the hunter lied, "He wrote me a note explaining his terrible situation with you. You're an abusive, angry bastard, Jazz. How dare you hurt him! I ought to kill you for it."

"I never lay a hand on him, Lockdown. I know I love him. I hate him right now, and I know you have something to do with this." The look on Lockdown's face was that of surprise, but quickly masked over with determination.

"Prowl doesn't want to be with you, Jazz. He and I love each other, it's as easy as that. I suggest you just mute it and maybe I'll let you go." Lockdown held back what looked like laughter, then turned on his heel and strutted out of sight. I heard Prowl somewhere down the hall tell him Lockdown was his hero, and 'thank you for being here for me'. It made me boil inside, but I wasn't sure why—I hated Prowl….right?

"Jazz?" Another familiar voice, but this time not unwelcome. I turned around and found myself looking at Sentinel, who lay there, looking all right, but he held his side. He must have tried to fight Lockdown on his own. I kneeled down next to him and said,

"Are you okay, Sentinel? What happened?"

"It was awful, Jazz. It—we were back at Optimus' base, and you discovered that Prowl was writing some kind of note to Lockdown on a data pad. He sent it to him, but you were able to download it too. It turned out to be a love note, and pleading for rescue."

"From WHAT?"

"Jazz, don't you remember? You've been beating Prowl for weeks now…you don't remember?"

I didn't answer—I was too shocked to. How could that be true? I was nothing but gentle and careful with Prowl—I never hit him! I kissed and loved him…I was beating him?

"Sentinel…that's not tr—"

"I walked in on you moments later…Prowl was on the floor, screaming and leaking oil all over the place. You nearly killed him, Jazz! I've never seen you so jealous before. It took me forever to try to restrain you, but then that sick bounty hunter showed up. He'd gotten the e-mail Prowl sent and proceeded to rescue him. He grabbed you, probably to kill you, and I was holding onto you at the time. Then he knocked us out and I guess he took Prowl and left. And here we are."

I sank to the floor, unable to believe it. Was this all true? Was I really beating Prowl? Was all that love and affection I gave him just a dream I had while being knocked out for Primus knows how long on this ship? It seemed so real…but I still hated Prowl. Why did I hate him so much?

Sentinel reached out and placed a comforting hand on my back as I curled over pathetically.

"Jazz, I know you were unhappy with him. Prowl really was just another prosti-bot. He doesn't deserve a wonderful, strong, smart mech like you, you know that, don't you? I just want you to know that I'm here for you, you know, if you need to talk."

I trembled, because Sentinel offering me comfort made this situation real. He was never so caring or sympathetic before. He cared about me. I felt something tug at my spark, it was missing something. I think it was love, because I shifted over and let him hold me.

We sat there in silence for several breems before Lockdown and Prowl came back in.

"I want to see you," he said, pointing to Sentinel as he opened the door to the cell and stepped in, "Get your aft over here. You," he growled as he glared at me, "Don't you move from this spot. Prowl here is going to watch over you. If you so as much as look at him wrong, I'll rip your throat out. Got it?" I spat in his direction, earning a smack to the face before he slammed the door shut again.

"Prowl," he said, "You let me know if he tries to hurt you."

"I will," Prowl answered, wearing a stony expression. They kissed right in front of me, then Lockdown took off, holding Sentinel's arm tightly.

"Don't you hurt him!" I yelled as they walked off to Primus-knows-where, "Or so help me I'll break your knees!"

"Mute it," Prowl growled, "Lockdown merely wishes to speak with your associate. Sit down and—"

"Prowl, wait," I interjected, "listen to me. Something…something isn't right. I know you feel it, because I do. There's something telling me that I love you, and that I never hurt you, or found you writing any notes. Please, I don't believe we ever hated each other."

"Oh, please. You're a lying fool. You lost me, and I'm not coming back to you. I've learned my lesson."

"Do you recall, specifically, me ever hurting you? Give me another instance when it happened! ONE!"

Prowl crossed his arms and bowed his head, searching for a memory. I waited patiently, hoping that I was right, that something was truly amiss here. Prowl searched and searched, then dropped his arms, almost defeated.

"I…I can't…but…NO! You beat me, I know you did. Look at my arms! Look at what you did to my body! You violent, possessive monster! How can you deny this?" He raised his arms to show me the damage.

"How can you accuse me of it if you can't recall any memories? What if you got those scars from something else? What if you got into a really bad fight with another ninja?"

"You _are_ another ninja, Jazz!" Prowl yelled, losing his cool, "you are that other ninja, and you are capable of this kind of abuse! You don't deserve love from anyone, not even that hard-headed, egotistical Sentinel!"

Anger rises in my chest, and I find myself running toward the door in the hopes that I can smash my fist into his face. My arm swings out between the bars, but he's not close enough to hit. It doesn't stop him from screaming like a femme,

"LOCKDOWN! HE'S TRYING TO HURT ME!" And just like that, the crazy, mismatched mech raced in and forcefully grabbed my wrist, giving it a painful twist. I shrieked as we all heard a crack, a pop and a crunch. He had broken my wrist, and I hadn't even touched Prowl! My pain turned into rage; I began to pound on the door, swearing and roaring angrily at them both. Lockdown refused to release my wrist. He laughed at my attempt to break free and growled,

"Please. Mute it and sit back down. I'll take care of that wrist of yours if you quit yer yappin'. Prowl, stay here and just sit down. You don't have to talk to this bastard." He kissed Prowl's forehead and left again to speak with Sentinel. Unbeknownst to the two of us, their conversation was anything but angry and full of hate.

"I can't believe it worked," said a shocked Sentinel Prime, pacing the room, hands up and wearing a disbelieving expression on his face, "I just can't believe it! They fraggin' hate each other! Lockdown, you're a genius!"

"Yeah, I know," chuckled the bounty hunter as he casually examined his hook, "I told ya it would work, kid. I guess this'll be our goodbye now. You make your little escape with the Jazz-man, and I'll keep Prowl. Continue to make him believe he was an abusive fragger for an earth week or two, then drop it and make your relationship work. If you mention it too much, he might get suspicious. Their medics can fix the damage we've done, so keep hush-hush about it."

"Yes, sir," Sentinel said, all disrespect for Lockdown dissipated, "You've got it. I still can't—oh, Primus! It worked! I—uh-oh."

"What?" asked Lockdown, lowering his hook and shooting a look in Sentinel's direction; he did not like the idea of a possible 'whoopsie' in their grand scheme. Sentinel lowered his hands, his triumphant, overjoyed expression wiped clean off his face.

"How do we explain this to the others? They knew I was lying about Jazz abusing Prowl…they're going to ask."

"I never actually said ya had to go back to 'em, kid," answered Lockdown with a shrug. "You can stay here, tell Jazz you offered to be my slave to protect him. He'd buy it. The Guard would probably get my frequency somehow anyways, and I would tell 'em you're my slave, Jazz committed suicide and Prowl went insane. Easy as that."

"I—I guess…" stammered Sentinel reluctantly. It was clear he did not like the idea at all. He wanted to go home with me; Lockdown could see the reluctance in Sentinel's optics.

"Kid, this is a rough decision for ya, yeah, but again, you've got Jazz on your side now. He believes he hates Prowl, we gotta keep it that way! If we mess up now, we're both screwed. We have two ninjas on this ship, and if even one of them figures this out, we can kiss our lives goodbye. Ya got that?"

"I—"

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

In my cold, little cell, I was being reached by Ultra Magnus. I could hear him trying to reach both Sentinel and me simultaneously, and of course, we both answered, me thinking we were in immediate danger.

"Sir? Sir, it's me! We're on Lockdown's ship! You gotta send help!"

"I'm already on it, Jazz. Optimus called me about the kidnapping. I've picked up your energy signatures—seems our bounty hunting friend didn't take off just yet, you boys only just entered the ship. We've got a lock on you, Prowl and Sentinel."

"Oh, forget Prowl," I growled, "He's a moron." At the other end of the room, Prowl yelled,

"Mute it, you bastard!"

"Jazz…what's going on? Is—wait, hold on—GO, MEN, GO!" I can hear Magnus yelling orders, and I get the feeling he's already had his men surrounding the ship. Moments later, the stomps around the ship and the sounds at many angles confirm this for me. The Elite Guard is here to rescue us.

There's a small explosion somewhere further down Lockdown's ship, and the alarms start to go off. Both Lockdown and Sentinel run back into the brig, where Lockdown unlocks the cell door and Sentinel grabs me, and the bounty hunter grabs Prowl.

"What's going on?" Prowl yells over the alarms.

"We're being attacked!" yells Lockdown, "The Elite Guard wants to kill me and take you back with Jazz! They'd never believe he was hurting you!" He runs out, his hand wrapped tightly around Prowl's wrist, and is probably searching for a getaway ship.

Sentinel helps me up and says,

"Come on, we've gotta get going!"

"I know! Magnus is right out—"

"No, Jazz! We can't go back to them! They know you've been hitting Prowl; they want to throw you in the brig, send you back to Cybertron and work in the mines for the rest of your function! Do you really want that?"

"I…." I still refused to believe it. I never lay a sharp hand on Prowl's body, I know I never did it. I just hated him for some odd reason. Sentinel gave me a very odd look, which made me just a little suspicious, but then he asked,

"You must have hit your head or something earlier, Jazz. You're not acting like yourself…come on, we have to go."

"No," I answer, "I want to see Magnus. I need to know what's happening."

"No, Jazz," Sentinel growls as he grabs my shoulders and forces me to look him in the optic, "No, you aren't. You're coming with me. Let's GO." He tries to pull me along, and it was his first mistake. I am a ninja, and I don't take anyone's crap. As soon as he pulls, I throw him to the floor with a roar…I had completely forgotten Lockdown broke my wrist! Sentinel jumps and grabs me in his arms while I'm holding it, trying to avoid shrieking in pain. It hurts so badly, and now I can't do anything about it—I think I'm being kidnapped by Sentinel Prime.

"This is for your own good, Jazz," he says, "trust me. We—Oh, slag."

He stops short and nearly drops me, but his arms tighten around my body before I fall. A bright light hits us, blinding us temporarily. I can hear stomping and the rush of water further down. There are voices, almost like static, everywhere. I recognize one.

"Magnus!" I yell as I push myself out of Sentinel's arms, "Magnus, we're here! It's jazz!"

"Jazz?" I hear him call back, "Follow my voice! We're all here, we have Lockdown and Prowl—he's safe!"

_Oh, whatever_, I think as I run towards him, _like I care about that filthy whore._

I keep running until I smash my head into what is most likely Ultra Magnus. I fell to the floor with a loud, deafening clang and went offline before I could even see anyone.

* * *

**So again, not the best, but I've never been perfect. It's coming to a close soon, folks.**

**-Juana**


	17. They Went To A Whole Lot Of Trouble

**Chapter Seventeen: They Went To a Whole Lot of Trouble**

"Ugh…wh're th' frag am I?" I sat up and did my best to keep myself up, using my arms to balance myself. Standing right next to me was Optimus Prime's medic Ratchet, who smiled and answered,

"Got yerself into a bit o' trouble down there. I fixed up yer wrist, so you let me know if you feel any more pain in it. You smacked right into ol' Magnus on Lockdown's ship and knocked yerself out. How's yer head feelin'? You all right?"

"I—I think so…do y'know what happened?" My voice was just a bit sluggish; I was most likely on some kind of painkiller.

"I think you'd be better off talkin' to yer commander, kid. It's….it's an ugly situation. Lemme go get 'im for ya." The medic left the room and called out for Ultra Magnus, who must have been waiting outside, because he was in the med bay in a nanoklik.

"Jazz, thank Primus you're all right!" He grabbed my hands and gave me a warm, worn smile, "I was very worried. Don't worry, Prowl is safe. He needed to be knocked out for a bit, he was losing his processor back on the ship. Maybe he's awake now. Lockdown is in our brig again, and this time he is in a medically induced coma, stasis locked and being heavily guarded. He's an unbelievable old mech, I'll give him that."

"I don't care about Prowl," I snarled, "What about Sentinel? Is he all right?" Magnus lowered my hands and his smile faded into a tight frown.

"Well…Jazz, let's talk. We found the two of you on Lockdown's ship, but Sentinel was…reluctant to return to us. Only you ran towards us when I called out. Sentinel ran the other way, quite shocking for us really. We had to chase after him; I thought he was perhaps under the bounty hunter's control. But it's not true. Come with me. Ratchet, is that all right if I take Jazz with me?"

"Yeah, sure," answered Ratchet, once again cleaning his tools, "Just don't let him get hurt again, otherwise I'm holdin' you responsible." His tone was serious.

"Of course, my friend," replied Magnus with a sad smile, "I know. Jazz, come along. Thank you, Ratchet."

"Not at all. You take care of your man, Magnus."

Magnus helped me get off the berth, then took my arm to help me maintain my balance. We walked down the hall (I realized we were on Magnus' ship) and into a brightly lit room known to us as the 'Interrogation Pit'. The Pit obviously isn't in there; it's just a hellish place to be if you're guilty of a crime. We can find everything here.

"Jazz, sit down. What you're about to see is going to shock and anger you. Right now, you believe you hate Prowl, and he believes he hates you, but neither of you feel that way on your own. I'm going to call Optimus in with Prowl, you two need to see this together." He called the Prime and asked them to come to the Interrogation Pit, and they arrived less than a breem later. They must have been here while waiting for me to regain consciousness.

Prowl entered the room, but tried to leave when he saw me sitting on the couch.

"I don't want to be around him," he growled as Optimus took his wrists and pulled him over, "Let me GO."

"Prowl, listen to me," huffed Optimus as he struggled with his soldier, "You two have to see this together. Sit…DOWN." He managed to throw Prowl onto the couch right beside me and slapped a pair of stasis cuffs on his wrists. Prowl shot a nasty look at me, which I returned gladly before Magnus interrupted us.

"Both of you listen to me. I'm going to show you something we found in Sentinel's memory chips. It's going to anger you, possibly infuriate you. But it will make sense of the situation, and you will find your true feelings for each other, I promise. And it'll make our lives easier as well." He showed us a memory chip he'd taken from Sentinel's processor and slid it into a computer.

We sat and watched the whole thing, Sentinel and Lockdown planning out this whole disaster in their cell, the recording of the false memories, Sentinel's true memory of seeing Prowl and me wrapped lovingly in each other's arms just before being brainwashed, and the talk the two bastards had while they left Prowl and me alone in Lockdown's brig.

Prowl twitched slightly, while my fuel tanks threatened to empty themselves right there. Optimus and Magnus exchanged grave, disappointed looks. They were waiting for our reactions.

When it ended, we were left speechless. Optimus and Magnus watched us carefully, waiting to see what would happen. At first, neither of us could believe it. I still felt like I hated Prowl, but that empty feeling in my spark was starting to make sense. Prowl looked at his feet, trying to remember how he'd really gotten his scars. When it dawned on him, he turned to face me and whispered softly, his voice trembling

"J-Jazz…oh Jazzy, I'm s-so sorry…."

"Shhh…shhh… s'okay, sweetheart." I reached over and gently placed my hands on his wrists and carefully removed the stasis cuffs. I threw them to the floor and wrapped my arms around him, earning a tight hug in return. I kissed his neck, feeling the sting of fluid in my optics as I crushed him in my embrace. We both began to sob like sparklings in each other's arms. We were both so angry and so scared; we realized that we almost lost each other forever.

I held him in my arms for a breem, all too aware that we were being watched by our leaders, but I really didn't care. I did want to see the criminals, though. I loosened my grip of Prowl, who gave me a wondering look, and stood up to speak to my commander.

"Ultra Magnus, take me to Lockdown and Sentinel. I have some business to finish with them."

"I knew you'd react this way," answered my commander, "Jazz, I know you're angry. They are in custody, and they are going to go to trial for their misdeeds. Lockdown is without a doubt going to prison for the rest of his function. If you ask me, those two went through a heap of trouble just to get you two to 'fall in love' with them. They wanted fake love, they are nothing to us now. Jazz, you must listen to me. You're going to have all this hate in your spark, and it's going to make you sick. Please. Look at Prowl—do you really want to be angry for him?"

"Commander, let me talk to them."

"You're going to try to kill them, I already know it. I understand you're angry, I know you want to exact revenge, but damn it Jazz, ask Prowl what he wants from you."

This is the only thing that gets through to me. I turn to my love and await his answer. Prowl stood up, placed his hands on my cheeks and leaned in, close enough to kiss me.

"Do not concern yourself with this," he whispered into my audio with his warm , delicate voice, "I love you. You love me. That's all that matters, my darling. I'm sorry I yelled at you, I'm sorry any of this happened. But let's just put this behind us…we've never really hated each other. I don't want us to hate others." He gave me a sad smile. I reached up and pulled his visor off to look into his optics…they were so full of sadness, pain and anger, yet I still saw some shred of happiness in them.

I bowed my head and answered in a hushed whisper only he could hear,

"I won't go after them, but only because you don't want me to. I love you, Prowl."

"Oh, Jazz…thank you." He hugged me again and kissed my cheek in his thanks. We looked to our commanders' next, ready to ask if we could leave. All I wanted to do was hide in Prowl's tree and coddle him. Magnus merely nodded his permission, and we were out of the Interrogation Pit like that.

We ran out of the ship, my hand wrapped tightly around Prowl's. We didn't even bother to transform—it was the last thing that occurred to us. But it was a moot point; we reached his base, flying past Prowl's teammates before they even had a chance to ask us what was going on. I pulled him into his room, where I slammed down his door, pushed him against his tree and began to passionately kiss him from head to foot. I needed him, I wanted him.

We wanted each other terribly. Prowl's fingers danced on my chassis and face, his lips kissing every inch of them until I took him down gently and kissed his neck, his arms, his stomach….he was more beautiful than I had ever imagined. I couldn't believe this gorgeous, intelligent, wonderful little mech was mine, and vice versa.

It was love, and nothing could ever take him away from me. I am here to love and protect him, no matter what life throws at us. There was no more hate, there was no more anger, and there would certainly be no lies. I will always be sure of that.

"Prowl?" I stop kissing him for a moment to look him in the optics seriously, "I want to tell you something." He moans slightly with need as I push away from him just for a moment and grabs for my arms. He tries hard to pull me back in, but I push back and take his wrists gently.

"Prowl, wait." He pouts in the most adorable way possible, but I fight the urge to give in.

"What's wrong?" he asks nervously, "did I do something wrong?"

"No, no, baby, never," I answer with a reassuring smile, "I just wanted to tell you…the other night, before we were kidnapped, you and I went into recharge together. You went out first, and I was holding you, just kinda gazin' and watchin' you. I was strokin' your arm and your over armor came off. I tried really hard to get it back on, but then I decided against it. I was star—I was looking at the scars, and I started to kiss them, because part of me wanted to heal them. I imagined that every time I kissed a scar, it would disappear."

Prowl's expression was unreadable at this point, and I didn't know if I was about to lose him forever or not, but I kept going because I would look like an idiot if I didn't continue.

"But then, I really saw them. They were part of you, and they were beautiful. I never thought I'd think of scars as a beautiful thing, but they look…wonderful on you. So I kept kissing them, but this time to tell each and every one of them that they were beautiful and that belonged to the most beautiful mech I'd ever met."

Prowl was silent. He didn't move and he didn't speak. He just stared into my face, devoid of emotion. I let go of his wrists and let them fall to his sides. After what felt like a million years, he stammered,

"You—you looked at my scars? Without asking?" He sounded a little upset.

"It was an accident, Prowl. I was only rubbing your arm when it came off. I couldn't figure out how to put it back on."

"You kissed them?" The tone of his voice was suddenly not that of anger. His face went through a series of emotions: anger, sadness, fear, humiliation, and then…a smile.

"You…you're not repulsed by them," he said quietly, "You aren't disgusted by them. Or by me. Jazz, I …I love you." He threw his arms around my shoulders and kissed me roughly, as though he'd met me for the first time. I returned the embrace and whispered,

"I love you so much, Prowl. You're the greatest thing to ever happen to me. I will never let anyone or anything harm you in any way. I love you." We resumed kissing each other passionately, only this time it was even more passionate than before. It was the most beautiful moment in our lives.

So far.

* * *

**So I found out they made a movie based on "The Secret Life of Bees". Does anyone read anymore? Honestly. The casting looks terrible. I love the book, so if you haven't heard of/read/seen it, go find a copy. It's so real and so well-written. It's on my list of favorites.**


	18. Scar Worship

**Oh my goodness an update! Yes, my fellow readers, I apologize for the delay. I had a bad run-in with writer's block, but I've wanted to update this (and my other stories) for a while. It wasn't until I saw the hits for this story tonight (way over twenty-four thousand!) that my need to write picked up. This isn't the best chapter I've ever written, but it's enough. I like it.**

**ANYways, please enjoy this new chapter, and yes, there is stil much to come. I just haven't written it yet. Once again I repeat myself when I say that I will be completing ALL my stories, it's just going to take some time.**

**-Juana**

**Chapter Eighteen: Scar Worship**

We made love right there, bodies hot, moans escaping our lips as we desperately clung to one another. We reached overload as one, bodies connected through our new bond, a promise to never hurt each other again. We collapsed to the floor, holding each other lovingly and whispering secrets in the other's audios. Prowl kissed me on the lips so gently, I barely felt them against mine. I smiled into the kiss, placed a hand on his arm and slid off his over armor.

"Jazz," he whispered, trying to suppress the sudden panic in his voice as he tried to sit up, "what are you doing?"

"Loving you even more," I answered back. I scooted down slightly and took his exposed arm in my hands. I gazed at his scars without any hint of repulsion, then, without warning, I bent over and kissed a scar tenderly. Prowl gasped softly in disbelief, so barely audible, but it was not meant to be an objection. So I continued.

With each kiss to each individual scar, I murmured something to him.

Kiss.

"I love you."

Kiss.

"You're beautiful."

Kiss.

"I never want to lose you."

Kiss.

"I would move the stars for you."

Kiss.

"I will always be here to protect you."

Kiss.

It went on for more than a human hour. Prowl allowed me to love each and every scar on his arm, flinching every so often before he'd had enough and pulled his arm out of my hands.

"Prowl? What's wrong?" I was worried I had offended him. He slid his over armor back on and looked away from me while nervously playing with his hands, something he'd never done before.

"I'm sorry," he answered, "I just felt strange. I'm still trying to become accustomed to being touched and loved so often." I sat up and reached over to hug him. He moved away from me, then said,

"Jazz, wait. I love you, I truly do. I just need a breem or two alone to just calm myself."

"No," I object, "Prowl, what's wrong? Did I do something? Please, just tell me. Are you…are you embarrassed?" His silence is all the answer I need. Shaking my head, I take his arm and pull him back into my chest. I kiss his forehead, then say in a low, quiet voice,

"Sweetheart, you're beautiful. I love you, and I don't care if you hurt yourself. Your scars are fine. I know you need some alone time, but please, don't feel bad about them. Or yourself, there's nothing for you to be ashamed of." Prowl didn't look up at me, but buried his face into my chest and sighed deeply. His body began to shake in my arms.

"Prowl? Are you okay?"

"Mmm-hmmm…" he answered with a high pitch. It sounded like he was trying to avoid speaking. I suddenly realized he was crying! He was crying and he didn't want me to see; he was so humiliated by his own self-consciousness, and I hadn't even realized it. I smiled softly and lifted his chin up to look me in the optics. His cheeks were drenched in optic fluid, and his bottom lip trembled as he tried to hide it.

"What's wrong?"

"I just…Jazz, you're the best mech in the universe. You're so wonderful… I don't deserve you."

"Yes, you do. Just like I deserve you. We were meant to find one another, I'm sure of it. I've waited to find you forever, and I'm not just saying that."

He huddled into my arms and pressed his cheek against my chest, smiling despite his tears and whispered,

"Your spark is so warm, Jazz."

"Love heats me up," I replied. He snorted, trying to hide his amusement at the dorkiest thing I'd ever said, while I pulled him closer and pressed a soft kiss on his forehead.

Soon after, he fell into a very deep, heavy recharge, snoring loudly like the previous night. This time, though, I refused to let myself fall into recharge as well. This time I had to stay online. This time I had to be there to make sure no one got in and took us away from each other. This time, there were going to be no mistakes.

The night went by smoothly but slowly. I had remained on-line through the night, keeping Prowl pressed against me in a gesture of my bottomless need to protect him. I admit I was exhausted by the time morning rolled around, and I finally allowed myself to drift off as he began to come back online from his recharge.

He kissed me before getting up to meditate in his tree, giving me some time to fall over and finally fall into recharge myself. He wasn't aware I had been online for the past eight earth hours, so when he returned twelve breems later, he shook me back online with concerned optics.

"Jazz? Jazz, it's morning. It's not healthy to sleep all day."

"Sure it is," I answered as I pulled him back down and wrapped my arms around him, "Just gimme a few more cycles, I need 'em." Prowl was about to protest, but thought better of it and decided to leave me alone. He worked his way out of my arms and said,

"Very well. I'm going to get some energon, how much would you like?"

"Just a coupla' cubes, sweet'art," I mumbled before I fall back asleep.

* * *

It's late afternoon when I finally wake up. Prowl isn't in his room; in fact, no one is on the base at all. I comm. link Ultra Magnus, who answers like a grumpy old mech.

"Jazz? Where have you been?"

"Hi, Commander. I was recharging."

"All day?!"

"Actually, I was online all night, and only fell in recharge this morning."

His end of the line is a shocked silence. I ask him if he's all right.

"Jazz, I know this isn't my business, but you have a job to do. You can't spend every night with Prowl interfa—"

"Oh…oh, no! Sir, that ain't why," I interrupt, "No, no, I was keeping watch. I don't want him to get hurt, not again. I couldn't sleep, I had to stay up and keep a watch out for Lockdown. Is he still in custody?"

"Yes, he is. All right, Jazz, I'm letting you off with a warning. But this can't become a normal thing. I know you care for him, but you have a job to do; you are an Elite Guard, you have to guard and protect more than just your partner. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir. I apologize."

"Thank you. If this happens again, I'm afraid I may have to place you on probation, and it will include not being able to see Prowl for a while."

"I understand."

"Good. I'm on the ship right now, but Optimus Prime and his crew may need some assistance. Give him a call, see if he needs you."

"Yes, sir. I'll do that now."

And a good thing I did. We had much to worry about.

* * *

**Dum Dum DUM! What's gonna happen!? I know, but can you guess?**

**-Juana**


	19. The Argument

**Oh my gosh, it's been forever and ever since I last updated! I've been crazy busy with everything here in the real world, and haven't been able to write anything in the longest time. I know a lot of people have been sending me PMs about this story, and other stories as well, and I knew I had to update. So here it is, the latest chapter to "Protection". I'm sorry it's a short one, but when I began to write it months ago, I got stuck and couldn't really proceed with it until now. get ready, this is the beginning of the short love-drama part of the series. I might not be able to update again for a long time, not until the holidays possibly. I'm back in school, job hunting again, taking extracurricular classes and so forth. So yes, busy as usual. I hope everyone is well, and please continue to read and review! Those reviews really keep me going! One quick note, lots of people send me PMs (Private Messages), but I can't reply to them, since I'm so busy. I ask everyone to simply write reviews, even if it's more of a question about the fic than a review. Much appreciated, **

**Juana

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**The Argument**

"Yo, Optimus," I called the young Prime up, "What's up? What you doin' right now?" There was no response for a minute, a sigh, then,

"Hi Jazz. I'm showing Bumblebee and Bulkhead some new moves to protect themselves. Prowl is with Sari, he's been training her for a while in Circuit-Su, or at least a human equivalent of it. If you're not busy, would you mind coming to the base and helping me out? We have a huge room that we usually use for training purposes, you can't miss it. You'll hear us stomping around in there."

"Sounds like a party," I smiled, glad to have something to do, "I'm already here, I slept over."

"Good. Bulkhead could use the extra help. See you in a few kliks." We hung up, and I sat there trying to organize my sleepy thoughts when I heard the floor shake and quake, followed by Bulkhead calling,

"Sorry, my bad!" Chuckling, I get up and walk out the door, follow the vibrations from the fall and find myself with the others. Prowl has Sari standing on her hands, timing how long she can go, Optimus has Bumblebee sparring with him, Ratchet is making adjustments on himself and Bulkhead is getting up off the floor. No one notices that I've entered the room, so I decide to teach them a thing or two about paying attention.

Stealthily, I sneak back into the shadows and silently flip myself up to the rafters to watch the activities. Still no one has noticed anything out of the ordinary, although Prowl has looked to the large entrance hopefully once or twice. I suppress an evil snicker and wait patiently for the right time to strike. Prowl moves to the side, where I find I have better access to him, and Sari falls over, gasping and groaning.

"Ow…my head hurts. Can I take a break?"

"You may have some water, but then we're going to practice kicking. We've been though this, Sari." Prowl instructs strictly, dark servos on his hips. I watch him teaching this little organic and wonder if he's ever wanted a sparkling of his own. I smile ever so slightly at the very idea of us with a sparkling. The idea of Prowl cradling a little babbling sparkling is adorable and so very squee-worthy. But I keep quiet and wait for—there! The perfect chance to give these 'bots a scare. Everyone is looking in one direction and not giving the room any scans. It would appear they're so caught up in training that they don't even notice my energy signature upon entering the room.

Bulkhead has blocked Sari, leaving Prowl wide open for my attack. Here is where I strike. Crouching low, I spring from the rafters and knock into Prowl, throwing my arms around his chest and pinning his arms to his sides. He yells out in surprise and gets the attention of his teammates. Optimus pulls out his axe within seconds, ready to fight, while Bulkhead turns around and fires his wrecking ball inches from my head. Bumblebee snatches Sari from the floor and protects her against his chest while at the same time aiming a free stinger in my direction.

"Let him g—Jazz!?" Optimus lowers his axe in surprise, then laughs, amused. "Well, you certainly do make quite the entrance. I didn't even notice you come in."

"I know," I reply, "I thought I would teach you mechs a thing or two about payin' attention. You guys react fast! I'm impressed."

"Yeah," added Bumblebee, "That's 'cuz we're the best!" Sari laughs and nods in agreement. Bulkhead retracts his weapon, then says,

"I think you can let go of Prowl now, Jazz." Oh, right! I still have my love crushed against me. I sneak in a little kiss, then let him go. He doesn't look too pleased with himself, being caught off-guard like that. I dare say he's a little humiliated, even. He steps away from me and says,

"Uh, all right, Sari. Let's, um, get back to training. Get a drink and be back here in five minutes. Bulkhead, I want you to practice walking slowly without making sound. I don't want to hear you by the end of the day."

Prowl refuses to look at me.

Bulkhead begins to inch around the room, careful to take the smallest of steps. The room is nearly silent, the walls cease vibrating. Nothing falls, and we do not need to constantly steady ourselves. Prowl keeps his optics on the giant, not even looking at me when I take his hand in mine.

"Aw, come on, Prowl!" I groan, "I didn't mean any harm! It was fun!"

"I'm busy, Jazz." He sounds furious. Oh, no, I'm not taking this from him, not after what we've just been through. I step in front of him and growl,

"Don't start this, Prowl. I'm not trying to make you look bad. All of you were preoccupied."

"That doesn't mean you can just go around and embarrass me in front of my team like that!" he snaps back, "We knew you were on your way, Jazz! It is not as though you caught us entirely off-guard!"

"But I did, Prowl! And I did it so that you would pay more attention to your surroundings! The Elite Guard does it; you need to do it too!"

"Stop talking like you're better than us!"

"I AM better than you!"

I couldn't stop the words before they left my mouth. The entire room ceased of activity. Optimus Prime's jaw dropped, while Sari and Bumblebee, who had clearly been gossiping, shut their mouths to stare incredulously at us. Bulkhead stopped as well, and Ratchet's tools fell from his hands, clattering to the floor. It was the loudest sound I'd ever heard, those tools falling in what I know was shock.

Prowl's optics narrowed. It was though time itself has stopped, as though I had said the magic words to freeze the universe. But time speeds back up when Prowl's servo connects with my facial plating.

"How d-dare you," he sputters, choking on his anger, "how DARE you? Get out of here. NOW."

"No—Prowl, wait," I try to explain myself as I rub my sore cheek, "Please, I didn't mean it like--"

"Yes, you did," Prowl whispers back harshly, "You're an Elite Guard. You're smarter, faster, stronger and better than us in every sense of the word. You know it, I know it, we all know it. Just get out."

"NO," I answer defiantly, grabbing his arm before he slaps me again, "I'm not leavin'. Are you really going to do this after what just happened? Is this how you're going to act? I wasn't aware I was in love with a sparkling."

"Jazz, that's enough," Ratchet cuts in, "Both of you, just quit it now, before you make a real mess. Prowl, he only said it in the heat of the moment. Jazz, you need to think before you speak. Make up and get on with yer lives."

"Yeah," adds Optimus, stepping in between us before we can have a chance to fight each other, "Honestly, Prowl? He was just trying to help us. And after what you two have just been through, one would think you'd want to spend none of your time being angry. Jazz, I don't like what you just said, but I know you only said it in the heat of the moment. Alright, guys? Can we make up and get one with life?"

Prowl rips his arm out of my hands and glares angrily up at Optimus.

"I need time, Prime. Do not simply force me to forgive anyone, ever."

"Prowl, come on, man," I plead, "Don't do this. I didn't—it came out wrong. I got a little annoyed, that's all. It happens. Please?"

"TIME," Prowl snapped, and with that he stormed off towards his room. I moved to chase after him, but Ratchet stopped me and shook his head. The understanding look on his face was all I needed to stop myself.

"Guys, I'm real sorry about that. I didn't mean it the way I said it. It just kinda, y'know, slipped out."

"It's okay, kid," Ratchet replied, "It happens. Prime's done it once or twice himself. No one's perfect. Give Prowl a few days to think, he'll start to miss you soon enough."

"Geez, Ratch, you make it sound easy," I answered back, "But I'm really s—"

"Forget it," Optimus interrupted, "It's done. Don't think too much about it, Jazz. Prowl just needs some time, like he said. He can be really, um…well, he's moody. You'll see, he'll be looking for you soon enough. In the meantime, would you like to help us train? I see a couple of younglings that need to be given something to do." He glanced over at Bumblebee and Sari, who looked like they were secretly listening the conversation.

"Yeah, sure," I replied, I can do that." They groaned and slumped their shoulders, ready to complain about every little thing I was going to teach them.

But not once during the training session did I forget that Prowl was royally pissed at me. I was going to have figure out what to do to fix this mess I had made for myself. What was I going to do?

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**A/N: Hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and hopefully there will be more to come before the end of next year! I want to update and write more, I really do, but it doesn't pay my rent, so it sometimes has to be put back up on the shelf until I'm ready to update again. I hope to update "The Adorable Adventures of Prowl and Sari" and my other fics soon, too, so keep a look out for those! Keep reading and happy holidays, **

**Juana**


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